Against a background of global economic gloominess, China’s Belt and Road Initiative injects a fresh spirit of multilateral cooperation and truly win-win opportunities. There is reason to expect a more vibrant regional and global economic recovery to be stimulated by this partnership initiated and led by Beijing.

Africa pins high hopes on the Belt and Road Initiative to promote African industrialization and infrastructure construction, and to turn the 21st century into an era of African development. The priorities of Washington and Beijing could be in concert here, giving the US and China historic roles to play.

Behind all the hype surrounding China’s changing global role in general, and the One Belt One Road concept and the BRI in particular, lie important and unanswered questions about America’s longer-term strategy for reshaping its relations with China and Asia more broadly.

Despite proposals to issue super-long government bonds and other ideas for controlling debt and the federal deficit, Congress and the president must bridge a lot of uncertainties to change the system dramatically.

More than 60 countries have welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, what is China’s rationale for pursuing this grandiose vision – one that so many countries, especially in the developing world, have embraced?

Recently, President Trump released a U.S. tax cut plan to re-shore U.S. corporate revenues. Some expect it to cause great challenges to manufacturing and capital outflows from China. The realities are more complex.

China-US economic and trade relations should look beyond the 100-day plan. It will mutually benefit China and the US to deepen economic, industrial and trade cooperation, and push for closer and deeper cooperation in the high-tech markets, while gradually eliminating investment barriers.

As the new U.S. administration has undercut its commitments to multilateral institutions and challenged free trade orthodoxy, China has upgraded its image as a pillar of globalization and doubled down on its Belt and Road Initiative. Amid the ongoing uncertainty for the future of globalization, it is thus possible to understand China’s BRI as part of a formative “Silk Road system,” an emerging economic substructure – “Sino-centric” yet symbiotic to the U.S.-shaped Bretton Woods.

The global economy now appears to be shaking off its deep post-crisis malaise, but the overhyped idea of a “new normal” for the world economy overlooks an extraordinary transformation in the global growth dynamic over the past nine years. It raises profound questions about the efficacy of monetary policy, development strategies, and the role of China.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi agreed to a 100-day plan for discussions on reducing the US trade deficit with China. It seemed to recognize that a stable US-China relationship is necessary to enable them to focus on their respective challenges.