Nine years after the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s flagship global infrastructure investment program is at a critical juncture. While many countries were initially eager to sign up for the initiative, the BRI has recently lost some of its luster in the face of mounting obstacles including delays, corruption, and heavy debt burdens associated with its projects. Over the past year, CNAS researchers have been thinking through how the BRI might develop in the two key regions of Europe and the Indo-Pacific, forecasting different scenarios for its evolution along with their respective consequences. This research recently culminated in the launch of a report entitled “Competitive Connectivity: Crafting Transatlantic Responses to the Belt and Road Initiative,” which outlines how the United States and Europe can work together to compete against the BRI. The authors of the report join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss how the BRI stands up nearly a decade after its launch, and how Europe and the U.S. might push against it going forward.

Lisa Curtis is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at CNAS.

Jake Stokes is a Fellow with the Indo-Pacific Security Program at CNAS.

Josh Fitt is an Associate Fellow with the Indo-Pacific Security Program at CNAS.

Carisa Nietsche is an Associate Fellow with the Transatlantic Security Program at CNAS.

Nicholas Lokker is a Research Assistant with the Transatlantic Security Program at CNAS.