![]() ![]() First, and most important, its multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach helps capture Belt and Road’s mutually reinforcing foundations. This article makes two contributions to the literature. However, it also offers opportunities that could be leveraged to advance some U.S. Left unchecked, Belt and Road could erode America’s post-World War II hegemony. Finally, China’s initiative exploits Washington’s post-Cold War overreach - militarization, political and neoliberal interference - and the strains in its alliance network. Third, the initiative advances a hybrid cross-regional geostrategy that yields powerful sea-land synergies, in contrast with America’s more circumscribed vision. 11 Second, Belt and Road works in tandem with Beijing’s industrial modernization, defense buildup, omni-directional engagement, and sophisticated propaganda, thereby transcending the U.S. First, it leverages China’s unique geoeconomic assets, such as state control over national actors, a vast national market, and growth rates superior to those of most countries, to circumvent Washington’s military primacy. In this article, I engage this conversation and argue that, for all its flaws, the Belt and Road Initiative is much more coherent, potent, and resilient than many believe. 8 While some scholars anticipate that Belt and Road will generate modest returns, 9 many criticize it as a mere slogan or an “endless list of unrelated activities” that will drain Beijing’s finances and damage recipient countries. Belt and Road’s closest equivalent, the Marshall Plan for Western Europe, which the United States launched while at the height of its power, had a much narrower financial reach and timeline (1947 – 1951) and covered far fewer nations - but ones that were economically stronger. 7Īt the same time, most experts contend that China’s prospects of success are slim. 6 Yet, many believe that under the guise of spreading prosperity Beijing intends to centralize global economic activity, weaken America’s alliances, and erode the U.S.-led international order, with baleful consequences. 5 Others stress that its primary goal is to advance China’s domestic economic growth. Some perceive Belt and Road as an opportunity. 4 Likewise, most scholars are skeptical about Chinese intentions. The Trump administration, whose December 2017 National Security Strategy declared China a “revisionist” power that aims “to erode American security and prosperity,” has vehemently denounced Beijing’s predatory economic practices and, along with some allies and partners, is developing alternative investment projects. Many observers view Beijing’s initiative as a threat. What is Belt and Road? What implications could it have for America’s grand strategy? 2 This article investigates these questions with a particular focus on security dynamics, arguing that, despite multiple problems and ambiguities, Belt and Road spearheads a coherent Chinese grand strategy that could weaken the foundations of America’s post-World War II hegemony but also advance some U.S. 1 However, the initiative’s nature and its potential repercussions remain unclear. leaders’ disillusionment regarding Beijing’s growing assertiveness and authoritarianism under Xi Jinping. ![]() The Belt and Road Initiative, an unprecedented infrastructure program that extends across and beyond the Eurasian continent, has elicited increasingly hostile reactions in the West and come to symbolize U.S. ![]()
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