2018 WAS MEANT TO BE XI JINPING’S YEAR. THEN CHINA’S BELT AND ROAD UNRAVELLED
What a difference one year makes. Back in 2017, we were contemplating a “Pax Sinica” as an irresponsible and ignorant American President – Donald Trump – seemed likely to concede global leadership to China’s quasi-imperial Xi Jinping. The roll-out of his signature “Belt and Road Initiative” looked set to cement Chinese ambitions globally.
However, 2018 has been a bad year for China. Why? First off, the Belt and Road has failed. It has become the object of relentless criticism, if not ridicule: across the globe, projects have been attacked as overvalued and disconnected to the developmental needs of host countries. Indeed, they are mired in corruption, incompetence and skewed to China’s strategic interests. In short: others pay, China benefits.
