China’s well-publicized Belt and Road Initiative to invest in infrastructure projects in other countries has helped it expand its political influence around the world. But a newer, lesser-known development program has launched with apparently similar objectives.
There is no question that China is a major player in world affairs, representing the second-largest economy in the world after the United States. In his role as a world leader, China’s President Xi Jinping periodically announces global projects designed to promote China on the world stage and to demonstrate global influence.
