Conclusion

Abstract

The concluding chapter, seeking answers to the prefatory questions, summarises the foregoing examination. It is impossible to predict BRI’s final outcome before all its planned projects are operational, but the evidence presented above suggests much anxiety informing Western analyses is rooted in a fear of the unknown precipitated by systemic transitional fluidity flowing from China’s rapid renascence, rather than a rational evaluation of the BRI blueprint per se. An uncertain transition from the 300-year old trans-Atlantic-centric political-economic order catalysed fearful suspicions and a profound displacement anxiety stemming from accretive disruptions backstopping Beijing’s BRI vision. Strategists’ angst-ridden, zero-sum prophecies drew greater attention than bankers’ reasoned analyses. A lack of objective detachment could promote self-fulfilling assumptions. This work aims to address that risk.