The Emperor's New Road: China and the Project of the Century

A prominent authority on China's Belt and Road Initiative reveals the global risks lurking within Beijing's project of the century

China's Belt and Road Initiative is the world's most ambitious and misunderstood geoeconomic vision. To carry out President Xi's flagship foreign-policy effort, China promises to spend over one trillion dollars for new ports, railways, fiber-optic cables, power plants, and other connections. It touches more than one hundred and thirty countries and has expanded into the Arctic, cyberspace, and even outer space. Beijing promises that it is promoting global development, but Washington warns that it is charting a path to global dominance.

Taking listeners on a journey to China's projects in Asia, Europe, and Africa, Jonathan E. Hillman reveals how this grand vision is unfolding on the ground. As China pushes beyond its borders and deep into dangerous terrain, it is repeating the mistakes of the great powers that came before it, Hillman argues. If China succeeds, it will remake the world and place itself at the center of everything. But Xi may be overreaching: all roads do not yet lead to Beijing.