This was a public lecture in the framework of the Asia Current Affairs Forum (ACAF) organised by Leiden University. 

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has received a great deal of attention since it was first announced in a speech by President Xi Jinping in autumn 2013. With projects totaling as much as $900 billion, covering 60 countries, 4 billion people and approximately one-third of global GDP, China’s BRI has the potential to radically transform the East Asian region.

For the most part, discussions about the BRI have concentrated on China’s intentions and ability to follow through on its rhetoric. A broader discussion of what the BRI means for the East Asian region and beyond needs to take place. This forum examined what the various responses to the BRI have been and what the implications of the BRI are for the Asian region and beyond. Guest speakers were Maaike Okano-Heijmans, Senior Research Fellow at Clingendael, David Henley, Professor of Contemporary Indonesia Studies at Leiden University, and Pralay Kanungo, Guest Researcher at Leiden University.