ABSTRACT
China's belt and road initiative is an omnibus policy framework, the stated aims of which are to enhance connectivity from Asia through Africa and the Middle East to Europe. Looking from a sub-national level is relevant to the future implementation of the belt and road initiative as well as its origins. The key reference for Chinese policy on the belt and road initiative is a 'vision and actions document' issued by the State Council at the end of March 2015. The relevance of regional perspectives to the belt and road initiative can also be seen directly from the 2015 vision and actions document itself. The relationship between Yunnan and Guangxi in this context is one that can be characterised as 'competitive internationalization', and this is likely to be a wider feature of provincial engagement with the belt and road initiative. This chapter discusses Chongqing as the inspiration for a series of freight train routes developed westwards across the Eurasian continent.
