Entries tagged "Big Question Series"

  • View All Analysis | March 31, 2021, 9:39 a.m.

    Browse our analysis section for news and articles on topics such as China's Belt and Road Initiative (OBOR), the world's evolving digital infrastructure competition, and the stakes for U.S. policy.

  • Europe Should Support China-CEE Cooperation | Dec. 19, 2017, 5:34 p.m.

    China has achieved remarkable infrastructure progress in recent years. As the Chinese say, if you want to develop, build the road first; and as investors say, no infrastructure, no FDI.

  • Belt & Road is Back on the Rails in Eastern Europe | Dec. 12, 2017, 10:28 a.m.

    Broad generalizations about “Belt and Road projects,” whether positive or negative, are not particularly helpful and could even be dangerous when formulating policy. A more successful approach is likely to involve nuanced and localized policies in the same way that China has adopted localized approaches to infrastructure investment under the BRI umbrella.

  • China’s “16+1” Equals Much Ado About Nothing? | Dec. 5, 2017, 9:41 a.m.

    The political damage Chinese investment in the CEE has created for the EU is already visible in its inability to act cohesively vis-à-vis China on trademark foreign policy issues, namely upholding the international rule of law and protecting human rights.

  • China’s 16+1 Poses Few Risks to Europe | Nov. 30, 2017, 2:59 p.m.

    Chinese investments in Central and Eastern Europe are raising concerns about transparency and accountability, but for now, the risks are relatively manageable given the modest scope of investment.

  • China’s Gateway to Europe Raises Questions | Nov. 28, 2017, 9 a.m.

    At the onset of Beijing’s sixth 16+1 forum, China’s involvement with Central and Eastern Europe under the Belt and Road is beginning to take shape. Results on the ground have proven mixed so far, and a more nuanced local picture is slowly emerging; with some reasons for concerns but also much reassurance provided.

  • China’s Balkan Silk Road | Nov. 20, 2017, 10:08 a.m.

    The magnitude of the Balkan Silk Road project poses a mixture of opportunities and policy challenges for countries engaging in or seeking to benefit from its implementation.

  • China in Central and Eastern Europe | Nov. 19, 2017, 11:34 a.m.

    Our “Big Questions” series brings together leading scholars, former policymakers, and top industry experts to tackle critical questions. In the seventh part of this series, we asked a group of experts to comment on China's growing infrastructure investment in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

  • Is Asia Reconnecting? | Nov. 6, 2017, 8:56 a.m.

    This report highlights essays from our Big Question series - an analysis collection that explore the drivers and implications of the massive infrastructure push taking place across the Eurasian continent.

  • The Case for a Trans-Caspian Bridge | July 11, 2017, 9 a.m.

    Major infrastructure projects... can still fail economically in terms of opportunity costs either because of excessive costs or insufficient demand but their political importance can be very significant, even momentous.

  • The Struggle Behind the Trans-Siberian Railway | July 5, 2017, 9:24 a.m.

    The guiding principle of the Trans-Siberian Railway was not about the routine moving of people from place-to-place, but sticking a pair of iron rods into bleak territory that had strategic importance in defining Russia’s role in the Far East.

  • Japan’s Ports and Power | June 28, 2017, 9:30 a.m.

    A country’s transportation infrastructure is plugged into other national and supranational networks in such a way as to impact, not just domestic economic interests, but also advance national security and foreign policy objectives.

  • How Britain’s Colonial Railways Transformed India | June 13, 2017, 9 a.m.

    Nowhere other than India is the railway so indelibly connected with the image of the nation. Just as there is no single country on earth that has such a broad cultural, ethnic, and racial mix as India, there is also no railway system that has played and, crucially, continues to play such a fundamental role.

  • Strategic Infrastructure | June 5, 2017, 10:02 a.m.

    Infrastructure is often viewed as a domestic economic issue, but throughout history, key projects have also advanced national security and foreign policy objectives.

  • Economically Connecting the Arctic | June 1, 2017, 4:44 p.m.

    If Russia and China successfully drive development to connect Asia and Europe through a northern Arctic Belt, Road, and Circle, we will know that the Arctic Age is upon us.

  • Arctic Maritime Connections | May 17, 2017, 9 a.m.

    Profound changes are happening in the Arctic Ocean, especially the increases in marine access from sea ice retreat, but these changes do not foretell a retooling of global maritime trade routes as many speculate.

  • China in the Arctic | May 9, 2017, 9 a.m.

    At present, economic interests are not at the forefront of China’s Arctic priorities, which are being used more as a political tool to achieve other goals: establishing the physical foundations for China’s Arctic rights, shaping governance norms, and preparing to tap into resources there.

  • Forecasting the Arctic’s Future | May 2, 2017, 9 a.m.

    The next few decades could bring dramatic changes. By 2040, ordinary merchant ships may be able to take the Northern Sea Route between China and Europe.

  • China’s Exaggerated Arctic Interests | April 18, 2017, 9 a.m.

    China may initially have approached the [Arctic] region with unrealistic energy expectations, but its currently cautious approach could give way to greater confidence over the long term.

  • Navigating Tomorrow’s Arctic | April 11, 2017, 9 a.m.

    An Arctic with less summertime sea ice presents numerous commercial opportunities...Making the most of these opportunities, however, will require cooperation between industry and the international community and careful management informed by science.

  • Arctic Opportunities | April 5, 2017, 9 a.m.

    As the Arctic region rapidly transforms due to dramatic climate impacts, new economic opportunities and environmental challenges present themselves across the region.

  • The Road to Extinction | March 28, 2017, 9 a.m.

    Wildlife traffickers are taking advantage of new roads, ports, and airports to cross borders more quickly and easily.

  • Dirty Entanglements on the New Silk Road | March 21, 2017, 10:32 a.m.

    Drugs, human smuggling, and illegal migration will remain crucial elements of life and the economy in Central Asia in the coming years, a problem only amplified by the new Silk Road.

  • Asia’s Infectious Flows | March 14, 2017, 9 a.m.

    Asia’s infrastructure push will involve building roads, railways, and ports across a vast expanse of land... One must consider the dynamics of known infectious diseases and acknowledge the likelihood that currently unknown infections are likely to emerge as new areas are explored and populations are linked.

  • Diagnosing Central Asia’s Drug Problem | March 7, 2017, 9 a.m.

    The real challenge for fighting the illicit drug trade in Central Asia stems less from the supposed risks associated with opening borders or developing transport infrastructure, than from dealing with poverty and corruption.

  • Asia’s Unintended Flows | Feb. 28, 2017, 9 a.m.

    The ancient Silk Road carried far more than commerce. How might today’s new connections impact the movement of drugs, diseases, and other unintended flows?

  • 3-D Printing’s Tipping Point | Feb. 22, 2017, 9:15 a.m.

    3-D printing has the potential to disrupt the division of labor in today’s manufacturing sector, putting great stress on regional and global economic arrangements.

  • Driverless in Eurasia | Feb. 14, 2017, 11:15 a.m.

    Autonomous vehicles have the potential to re-shape the continent of Asia’s economic geography, but they face infrastructure challenges unique to the region.

  • Disruption on the Docks | Feb. 7, 2017, 10 a.m.

    The fastest growing container trade in the world is intra-Asian trade. It is here that the business case for automated terminal investment is strongest.

  • Hyperloop on the Silk Road | Jan. 31, 2017, 9 a.m.

    A Hunchun-Zarubino Hyperloop would propel Russia to the forefront of transport innovation and could be the first step toward the twenty-first century Silk Road.

  • Rail’s Digital Revolution | Jan. 24, 2017, 9:12 a.m.

    Data sharing could revolutionize the efficiency of the entire global supply chain – from ship to train to truck and beyond.

  • Emerging Technology and Tomorrow’s Geography | Jan. 19, 2017, 9:27 a.m.

    From 3D printing to Hyperloop One, find out how emerging technologies are reshaping transportation, and with it, the world’s economic geography.

  • Asia's Infrastructure Cultures | Jan. 11, 2017, 12:05 a.m.

    With the “Belt and Road” initiative, the fast establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the construction of ports and railways in Africa and elsewhere, and by pushing green energy, China is demonstrating what has been lost in the West in recent times.

  • Survival of the Unfittest | Jan. 4, 2017, 9 a.m.

    The China example shows that it will be important for other countries to invest not only in high-quality infrastructure, but to also dedicate sufficient thought in how best to plan and deliver these projects to stay within cost and time budgets.

  • The World’s Infrastructure Laboratory | Dec. 14, 2016, 9:07 a.m.

    Our “Big Questions” series brings together leading scholars, former policymakers, and top industry experts to tackle critical questions.

  • Asia’s Emergent Middle Class | Dec. 14, 2016, 12:09 a.m.

    By 2030, two-thirds of the world’s middle class will reside in Asia. The middle class will demand quality infrastructure that meets their needs, without corruption or waste.

  • Too Much of a Good Thing | Dec. 7, 2016, 9 a.m.

    Unless China shifts to fewer and higher-quality infrastructure investments, the country is headed for an economic crisis, which is likely to spread to the international economy.

  • Big Questions, Expert Answers | Nov. 23, 2016, 9:05 a.m.

    Our “Big Questions” series brings together leading scholars, former policymakers, and top industry experts to tackle critical questions.

  • China in Europe | Nov. 23, 2016, 9:03 a.m.

    What is new about China's Belt and Road is that it is more likely to succeed outside of Eurasia, leading to new opportunities but also unexpected challenges for Europe and the United States.

  • Marco Polo and the Mongol Hordes | Nov. 16, 2016, 8 a.m.

    Like its predecessors, China’s efforts at unifying Eurasia are driven by several factors: a desire to boost trade, a need to find new markets for firms struggling with overcapacity at home, and a desire to set the rules of the new Silk Road.

  • Washington’s Challenge in Central Asia | Nov. 9, 2016, 9:32 a.m.

    A significant challenge to U.S. national security is looming in Eurasia and appears to be receiving limited attention from the U.S. government: Beijing’s “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) initiative and its plan to connect China with Western Europe through overland routes across Central Asia.

  • A Silk Road for the Twenty-First Century? | Nov. 1, 2016, 11:35 a.m.

    Many of the proposed projects will be delayed or never built, but those that are will transform the region.

  • Whither Eurasian Integration? | Oct. 25, 2016, 8:30 a.m.

    With the fall of the Bamboo Curtain in Asia and of the Iron Curtain in Europe, the progressive economic integration of the Greater Eurasian supercontinent became possible and by now it has become seemingly inevitable.