China is heavily investing in two infrastructure routes: a “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” stretching from Southern China across the Indian Ocean to connect Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Africa to the Mediterranean; and a land-based Silk Road Economic Belt connecting Western China to Europe via Central Asia. Establishing these transcontinental trade routes will likely cost over one trillion dollars and will cover 65% of the world's population. This investment could help fill a wide “infrastructure investment gap” in China and the 68 other Asian, African, and European countries it passes through, however, traditional international development actors such as multilateral investment banks and developed nations are concerned about the outcomes, terms, and process that come with this massive investment. There are still a number of questions surrounding how China might protect the route after it's built and if the benefits will outweigh the risk. Should recipient countries be worried about political strings that might come attached to OBOR projects? What impact does this different unilateral, loan-based model have on the recipient countries? How likely is China to succeed in achieving these grand investment goals and how will a project of this scale continue to contribute to China’s own growth? What type of impact does this project have on global trade in general?

Join us and Dr. Thomas Fingar, a Shorenstein APARC fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, to discuss these and other questions surrounding China’s massive undertaking.

SPEAKER:
Thomas Fingar
Shorenstein APARC Distinguished Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Stanford University

MODERATOR:
Markos Kounalakis
Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution

For more information about this event please visit: http://worldaffairs.org/event-calenda...

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