The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s grand plan  to connect over 130 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe to each other and ultimately, to China, is the largest infrastructure project in human history. China has committed over a trillion U.S. dollars to finance it—while the Asian Development Bank and other experts estimate it will take over a trillion dollars per year over a decade to complete. Around the world, BRI presents many opportunities for U.S. and other Western businesses to collaborate with Chinese firms to fill many financial and technological gaps, in what President Xi calls "a new model of win-win cooperation." In this essential talk—which can be tailored to address the interests of any industry or organization--Professor Sarwar Kashmeri provides invaluable background on the BRI, sharing insights into Chinese business culture while highlighting the many opportunities to leverage capital, technology and expertise.

The European Union has stitched Europe into the world’s largest trading block and the richest group of countries in the world. But this impressive achievement is now being challenged by the growing wealth and ambition of China and its game-changing Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China’s investment in Southern, Central and Eastern Europe is already impacting the economies and geopolitics of several European countries. It has also set up its own trade group in direct competition with the EU. The "17+1" group of countries, as this Chinese-led bloc is known, already includes 12 EU member countries and meets regularly to discuss and coordinate investments into Europe and infrastructure projects. Drawing upon his acclaimed book and his numerous fact-finding trips around Europe, Professor and Author Sarwar Kashmeri addresses key questions for business audiences: How will the EU accommodate this Chinese foray into the EU’s structure that is already reeling from Brexit and "America First" policies? How will the BRI affect the transatlantic alliance, the bedrock of the Western economies since World War II? Will the EU now see its economic future increasingly tied to China instead of the U.S.? Professor Kashmeri’s answers and insights are a must for anyone seeking to understand its growing impact and influence in Europe.

Just as the West is waking up to the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it is recognizing that Chinese investment and leadership have been reshaping the developing world and winning hearts and minds for decades. This is a big deal. Africa, for instance, is poised to become the largest business opportunity of the 21st Century, with household consumption reaching $2.1 trillion in 2025 and population peaking at 2.5 billion in 2050. Using Africa and other developing nations as examples, Professor Kashmeri unpacks the significance of the BRI as part of a grand strategy that will see China replace the U.S. as the world’s dominant commercial player and influencer. From Asia, where most nations are already dependent on China’s commercial influence, to the Middle East, where China is helping build refinery additions and investing in energy-generating assets to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars; Professor Sarwar Kashmeri examines China’s rise and influence and how it is challenging U.S. leadership and alliances.