On May 14 and 15, Beijing hosted a global summit on China’s $900 billion Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to create a trade and infrastructure network spanning the ancient Silk Road through Europe and Africa. Three major projects illustrate its ambitions and challenges:
CHINA-PAKISTAN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR
The $46 billion road, rail and energy project will span 2,000 miles between China’s westernmost city of Kashgar and Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, cutting the transport time from 12 days to 36 hours. However, India fiercely opposes the route through disputed Kashmir.
KHORGOS RAIL TERMINAL
This $250 million dry port on the China-Kazakhstan border will open up untapped Central Asian markets, though the rail project is twice the cost of sea freight and only marginally faster.
LAMU PORT
The first phase of this $480 million deep-sea port in Kenya, a transport hub for a road, rail and pipeline network across Central Africa, is due to open next year. But low commodity prices threaten its economic viability.
This appears in the May 29, 2017 issue of TIME.
- What We Know So Far About the Deadly Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
- Beyoncé's Album of the Year Snub Fits Into the Grammys' Long History of Overlooking Black Women
- How the U.S. Shot Down the Alleged Chinese Spy Balloon
- Effective Altruism Has a Toxic Culture of Sexual Harassment and Abuse, Women Say
- Inside Bolsonaro's Surreal New Life as a Florida Man—and MAGA Darling
- 'Return to Office' Plans Spell Trouble for Working Moms
- 8 Ways to Read More Books—and Why You Should
- Why Aren't Movies Sexy Anymore?
- How Logan Paul's Crypto Empire Fell Apart
