This book is an analysis of the developments associated with the Belt and Road Initiative (B&RI) five years after Xi Jinping announced both the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and the 21st Maritime Silk Road (21MSR). Together, these two dimensions constitute the B&RI, providing the so-called Chinese 'project of the century' with regional, inter-regional and global reach. This book aims at assessing the impact of the B&RI in all these dimensions and levels of influence. This is a current and promising theme, not only in the short and medium terms, but also within a broader timescale, reflecting Chinese strategic thinking itself, since Chinese philosophy and culture are oriented towards long-term and inter-generational perspectives. Likewise, both the title of this publication and the way it has been organized result from the empirical perception that China asserts a conservative attitude towards foreign affairs, redesigned in multiple dimensions, to create a perception of domestic unity and global prestige. In this vein of thought, the B&RI is already influencing and will continue to influence, directly or indirectly, the current economic and political order. Francisco B. S. José Leandro completed his Ph.D. in political science and international relations from the Catholic University of Portugal in 2010. He is currently an associate professor and Assistant Dean of the Institute for Research on Portuguese-Speaking Countries at the City University of Macau, China. Paulo Afronso B. Duarte has a Ph.D. in political science from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. He is currently an assistant professor at Universidade Lusófona do Porto and guest professor at the University of Minho in Portugal. He is a post-doctoral researcher at Centro de Investigação em Ciência Política, University of Minho, Portugal.

Autorentext
Francisco B. S. José Leandro received a Ph.D. in political science and international relations from the Catholic University of Portugal in 2010. He is currently an associate professor and Assistant Dean of the Institute for Research on Portuguese-Speaking Countries at the City University of Macau, China.
Paulo Afronso B. Duarte received a Ph.D. in political science from the Catholic University of Louvain. He is currently an assistant professor at Universidade Lusófona do Porto and guest professor at the University of Minho. He is a post-doctoral researcher at Centro de Investigação em Ciência Política, University of Minho, Portugal.

Inhalt
1. The New Silk Roads: Defining China's Grand Strategy.- 2. The words of the Belt & Road Initiative: a Chinese discourse for the world?.- 3. Global Strike vs. Globalization: The US-China - Rivalry and the BRI.- 4. Belt, Road and Ball: football as a Chinese soft power and public diplomacy tool.- 5. Understanding China's One Belt and One Road Initiative: an International Public Goods Approach.- 6. The financing of the Belt and Road initiative: blessings and curses.- 7. BRI Sustainable and Inclusive Growth and Finance Sources.- 8. Environmental considerations of the Belt and Road Initiative.- 9. The Chinese partnerships and the Belt and Road initiative: a synergetic affiliation.- 10. The Belt and Road Initiative - A New Platform in EU-China Cooperation?.- 11. Maritime Issues in the EU-China Strategic Partnership against the backdrop of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.- 12. EU Legal Obstacles to the Belt and Road Initiative: Towards a China-EU Framework on the Belt and Road Initiative.- 13. Latin America and the Caribbean Bring the Western Hemisphere into the Belt and Road.- 14. China and the Great Urban Projects in Cabo Verde.- 15. The ultimate European border: The Belt and Road discovers Portugal.- 16. China and the Portuguese Atlantic: The BRI´s last puzzle piece.- 17. Assessing China's 16 + 1 Cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe: A Public Good Perspective.- 18. Germany's attitude towards the BRI the impact of non-state actors on German foreign policy towards China.- 19. New Silk Road and Prospects for Turkey.- 20. Afghanistan and the Belt and Road Initiative.- 21. How Russia faces China in Eurasia: more than meets the eye?.