China has just hosted a summit on its Belt and Road initiative, the boldest attempt at economic integration. The massive project of improved sea and land transport links stretching across the Eurasian continent from China to Europe has already lined up nearly a $1tn list of investments, no doubt with more to come. (For a taste of the projects, look up the interactive graphic the FT produced last year on some of the ports, railways, roads and gas pipelines that are part of the initiative.) Despite false starts and investment spending that is currently stalling, President Xi Jinping can safely label the Belt and Road the “project of the century”.
中國剛剛就「一帶一路」倡議舉辦了一次峯會,該倡議是經濟一體化的極爲大膽的嘗試。這個旨在改善橫跨從中國到歐洲整個歐亞大陸的海上和陸地交通連接的龐大項目,已經安排了將近1兆美元的投資列表,後續無疑還會有更多投資。(想要了解這些項目,可以看看英國《金融時報》去年就該倡議涉及的一些港口、鐵路、公路和輸氣管道所製作的互動圖。)儘管有過坎坷的開始和現在正陷入停滯的投資支出,但中國國家主席習近平完全可以爲「一帶一路」貼上「世紀工程」的標籤了。