ABSTRACT
China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an ambitious state effort to link Asia and Europe economically through massive investments in infrastructure, primarily in developing nations that often struggle to secure such funds in capital markets. The United States has viewed the project warily for fear that it could increase Chinese influence. The BRI offers a large-scale construction programme aimed at updating old infrastructure and building entirely new facilities to reinvigorate inland Eurasian trade. In addition, the BRI seeks to net in 'one road economies' tracking the historical Maritime Silk Road, by way of projects focused on Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and East and West Africa. Accordingly, it seems unlikely the United States could offer them realistic alternatives for development. Policies that push Beijing and Moscow together are more likely to create a long-term anti-American front than BRI projects in Eurasia.
