Silk roads have for millennia shaped the fate of states and nations through which they passed. In the ages in which China played a central role in those connections, it was prosperous and secure, while when it didn't, it fell to invaders and internal strife. With the return of the oldest uninterrupted civilization to its rightful place of great power, the People's Republic of China will seek to revive the ancient Silk roads with its new Belt and Road Initiative. This thesis will attempt to prove that behind the façade of an infrastructure project lies a set of characteristics associated with geopolitical strategy and levers of great power rivalry. The declared intentions of infrastructural connectivity and economic cooperation are in truth only of secondary importance. Through this initiative, Beijing will primarily seek to remedy many of its external and internal problems related to security, economics, and politics. These problems include energy security, establishing spheres of influence, buying time for economic reform, subsidizing its economy, alternatives to maritime export dependency and many others. While solving these problems, Beijing will attempt to build institutions and alliances alongside the initiative, which are slowly taking the shape of a parallel world order of the future. While trying to accomplish its goals, Beijing will cross paths with its geopolitical rivals, who will pragmatically cooperate with it in some areas while opposing it in others. The project spans throughout the Afro-Eurasian supercontinent, and as such, this thesis divides the project's geography; down the lines of culture, politics and interests. The initiative's success will decide more than just the fate of the People's Republic of China but the future of the entire world order.
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