This timely Research Handbook investigates the radically transformative impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), addressing key questions regarding its economic, political and strategic consequences: what does the Chinese government hope to achieve with the BRI? How have recipient states responded? And what are its potential opportunities and risks?

Bringing together prominent international scholars and analysts, this Research Handbook arrives at a critical time in the infrastructural development of the BRI, shedding light on its influence in the future of global politics and economics. Chapters unpack the role of the BRI in Chinese foreign policy, placing infrastructural development at the centre of regional affairs, great power dynamics and economic and investment trends. Employing geopolitical and diplomatic modes of investigation, it offers critical and holistic views of the progress and challenges of the BRI’s implementation and its implications on the world stage.

Providing an innovative global viewpoint on the BRI, this Research Handbook offers cutting-edge perspectives for scholars and researchers of political science, particularly those investigating the latest developments in Chinese domestic and foreign policy. Its practical insights and broad empirical analysis will also benefit policymakers and think tank analysts working in the field.