Speakers:
Min Ye, Professor of International Relations, Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University
Jorge Heine, Core Faculty in Diplomacy & Governance, Rising Powers Initiative, Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future; Research Professor, Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University
Grant Rhode, Research Fellow, Center for the Study of Asia, Boston University 
Andrew Wilson, John A. van Beuren Chair of Asia-Pacific Studies and Professor of Strategy & Policy, United States Naval War College

Is China’s signature global strategy a boon to world development or a channel for control? Traversing the Belt and Road brings together leading voices from China and across the globe to examine the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) a decade after its launch. Spanning Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Africa, these essays highlight the diverse patterns and evolving dynamics across both the land-based and maritime Silk Roads. The volume’s findings—that while the BRI has facilitated development convergence in many regions, it has also intensified geopolitical competition and posed new governance challenges—are both encouraging and sobering.

Engaging with key debates in world development and great-power rivalry, this book unpacks the BRI’s adaptive nature and highlights its shift toward green and digital globalization. The wide range of methods employed—including comparative case studies, historical inquiry, statistical modeling, and field-based research—show how local agency, institutional variation, and global dynamics have shaped outcomes on the ground. An indispensable resource for scholars, students, and policy analysts, Traversing the Belt and Road offers a timely and empirically grounded perspective on China’s global ambitions—and the roadblocks in its path.

Book talk registrants can purchase the book at a 30% discount for a limited time at https://www.hup.harvard.edu/. Please use code ASI30 at checkout to receive the discount—the offer is valid through mid-December 2026.

Organized by the Harvard University Asia Center; Co-sponsored by the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University.