China Seminar | 13 September 2018

Update: China’s Belt & Road Initiative

Richard R. Vuylsteke

China’s massive infrastructure plans in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have become increasingly global, now including new “roads” through the Arctic and to the South Pacific. At the same time, an increasing number of concerns about the scope and methods of the BRI have caused many nations to rethink the terms of their participation. This presentation will discuss some of the strengths and weaknesses of the initiative, and what to watch more closely in the near future.

Dr. Richard R. Vuylsteke is the President of the East-West Center. His former positions include president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Taipei; editor-in-chief of the Taiwan Review; area studies coordinator at the Chinese Language and Area Studies (CLASS) Foreign Service Institute school in Taipei; research fellow in East Asian Legal Studies at Harvard Law School; as well as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Rajasthan, India. He received his MA and PhD from University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, specializing in Western and Chinese political philosophy. His areas of expertise include: strategic and operational leadership of multicultural organizations, Asia-Pacific business and trade, Asian and Western history and philosophy.