Four obstacles may yet derail China’s Belt and Road.

Unlike the US and Imperial Japan, China supports harmony for all.

The “informal summit” between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the end of April will likely be extremely consequential. The “Chindian reset” could well be a new beginning that allows the most dynamic region in the world to claim a “pacific” new Asian Century.

These are the obstacles in the way of global development.

Industrial technological competition is at the center of China-US competition.

As the role of the United States in the international community grows increasingly isolationist -- and President Trump remains a vocal critic of international aid and development programs -- some countries are looking to Beijing in hopes of securing fast financing for infrastructure development projects. However, as the authors of the report warn, many of China’s loans are given under less-stringent conditions than more-established Western multinational lending institutions such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund.

Chinese tech firms are increasingly committing to market expansion across Southeast Asia. The development of the Digital Silk Road, especially in the ASEAN region, may provide clues about an emerging Chinese model of economic and political influence over information technology markets.

Zainab Zaheer argues that with the Belt and Road’s development, the next few years may be slightly reminiscent of the Cold War, where two rival nations both well equipped with resources and manpower fought for influence and dominance, while smaller nations were left playing a game of strategy, trying to maximize the benefits of fraternizing with giants.

For China the Arctic represents a largely blank geoeconomic canvas outside of the United States’ sphere of influence in which it can lay the foundation today for significant economic and geopolitical rewards in the future.