Ten years ago this week China’s leader, Xi Jinping, began laying the tarmac for what would become his signature foreign policy. He began with vague suggestions of reviving the Silk Road, an ancient network of trade routes linking China with Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. When the plan was given an official name—“One Belt, One Road”—it suggested that China was putting itself back at the centre of the world. Later it would be softened, for the benefit of foreign audiences, to the “Belt and Road Initiative”, or bri. Mr Xi modestly hailed it as the “project of the century”.
十年前的本周，中国领导人习近平开始为他标志性的外交政策铺平道路。他首先含糊地建议复兴丝绸之路，这是一条连接中国与中亚、中东、非洲和欧洲的古老贸易路线网络。当该计划被正式命名为“一带一路”时，它表明中国正在将自己重新置于世界中心。后来，为了外国观众的利益，它被软化为“一带一路”倡议。习近平谦虚地称其为“世纪工程”。
