On China's New Silk Road

Commemorations mark a century since Mao Zedong met secretly with a dozen men to establish the CPC and change the course of history forever.

China’s investments helped Ethiopia become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Now, the country is embroiled in a conflict that has displaced tens of thousands — and threatens to destabilize a region in which China is heavily invested.

Leaders in Delhi have resisted Beijing’s efforts to pull India into networks that China leads or dominates, including the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

China is fast becoming a global leader in cutting-edge technologies — such as artificial intelligence, facial recognition, surveillance and 5G. But critics say China’s technology enables authoritarian control and increases dependence on an autocratic state.

As part of its global Belt and Road Initiative, China is investing in the Arctic — setting up research stations, investing in mining and energy, and working with Russia to create a new sea route through the Arctic Ocean. It's also stoked concerns from the US.

Many Latin American countries have joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative, including Panama. As Mexico considers whether to join, some countries in the region face pressure from the Trump administration not to get too close to China.

Southeast Asian countries have long managed a complex relationship with China, the region’s biggest trading partner and their most powerful neighbor. China's new Silk Road promises opportunities for economic growth, but at what cost?

Italian populists—skeptical of the value of EU membership—drove Italy to become the first G7 country to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Then the pandemic brought generous EU aid, leaving Italy to reassess who its real friends are and how best to help its economy.

The tradeoffs of China's investment in Kazakhstan require Kazakhs — most of whom are Muslim — to reckon with the persecution of Muslim minorities just across their border.

In the first episode of "On China's New Silk Road," The World's former China correspondent Mary Kay Magistad looks at Chengdu, China, a stop on both the ancient Silk Road and the new one, for clues on China's global influence via its Belt and Road Initiative.