Crafting Transatlantic Responses to the Future of China’s Belt and Road Initiative

The CNAS Crafting Transatlantic Responses to the Future of China’s Belt and Road Initiative project will forecast how the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is likely to evolve in the coming decade and chart a course for the United States and Europe to counter BRI in Europe and other critical regions such as the Indo-Pacific.

The project will involve a comprehensive research effort that includes scenarios exercises and structured analytic tools to map out the current status of BRI, examine the drivers of the BRI’s future trajectory, and forecast the BRI’s future development. By better understanding the drivers of the BRI and the potential trajectory of the project, the research team aims to develop fresh recommendations for the United States and Europe to both counter BRI in Europe and beyond as well as explore opportunities to mitigate the most malign implications of the project.

The CNAS Crafting Transatlantic Responses to the Future of China’s Belt and Road Initiative project, which is partially supported by the U.S. Air Force Office of Commercial and Economic Analysis (OCEA), aims to craft new opportunities to push back on China’s infrastructure investments. Through a series of roundtable discussions, scenarios exercises, a report, and op-eds, the project will advance research on how the United States and Europe should approach China’s infrastructure initiatives and develop democratic alternatives.

This project involves the following research programs:

Learn More:

Indo-Pacific Security

Competitive Connectivity

China launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—originally called “One Belt, One Road”—nine years ago, pledging to use its vast financial resources and construction capacity...

Read More
Indo-Pacific Security

Grading China's Belt and Road

The Belt and Road is more than just an economic initiative; it is a central tool for advancing China’s geo-political ambitions....

Transatlantic Security

Charting a Transatlantic Course to Address China

Working together to collectively strengthen the United States’ and Europe’s ability to compete with China provides an opportunity for a reinvigorated partnership....

Indo-Pacific Security

Power Play

The United States and China are in a competition to shape the course of the 21st century. At stake is whether the prevailing international order that has backstopped peace, pr...

CNAS Experts