Is China’s Belt and Road Initiative a geopolitical instrument, and if so, what’s Beijing’s long game? Are the U.S. and China destined to fall for the Thucydides Trap, or is there a level of Mutually Assured Restraint? Sara Fay, Niko Marcich, Liam Kraft, and Cameron Vaské discuss the rise of China, the Belt and Road Initiative, geopolitics, and compare U.S.-China relations to the Cold War. Grab a mug — it’s time for The ITS Café.

We also announce the launch of The International Scholar’s Center for Asian Affairs and the China Connectivity Project.

The ITS Bookshelf:

- Chesapeake Requiem by Earl Swift

- Imperium by Ryszard Kapuściński

- Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

- Europe’s Connectivity Strategy and the Challenge of China: Rivalry, Reciprocity, or Both? by Bart Gaens (The Finnish Institute of International Affairs

- Mutually Assured Restraint: A New Approach for United States-China Relations by Amitai Etzioni

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