The Red Sea Crisis Proves China Was Ahead of the Curve by Dr. Parag Khanna
Global Neighbours Advisory Board member Dr. Parag Khanna’s recent article titled “The Red Sea Crisis Proves China Was Ahead of the Curve”, published by Foreign Policy, on January 20th, 2024, discusses ongoing disruptions in maritime trade due to Houthi rebel attacks in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, prompting shipping carriers to avoid the Suez Canal, and China’s influence in this matter.
Khanna highlights the geopolitical impacts of these disruptions and the importance of building alternative supply chain routes to mitigate them. Starting with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and subsequent connectivity programs such as the EU’s Global Gateway or Japan and India’s “connectivity corridors“, he concludes that „the infrastructure arms race is now well underway.“
Khanna stresses the need for a more interconnected and resilient global infrastructure network to address geopolitical and climate-related challenges, since all “accumulated layers of infrastructure—from Roman roads to British railways to American bases—are a lasting testament to the fact that while control over infrastructure changes hands, in the long run it is not a zero-sum game. The answer to the question as to the fate of infrastructure is the same as for the globalization it underpins: more.”
You can find the full article here.
Image: ckybe – stock.adobe.com