Three continents, 4.4 billion people and 29% of global gross domestic product (GDP): the One Belt, One Road strategy, put forward by Chinese president Xi Jinping in 2013, could become the largest commercial, political and cultural endeavour in modern history.
Echoing the Silk Road established in China’s Han dynasty that ran from 206 BC to 220 AD, One Belt, One Road includes the New Silk Road Economic Belt linking China with Europe through central and western Asia via land, and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, which will link China to south-east Asia, Africa and Europe.