Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, has a fondness for atavistic grand designs. In one, the “Chinese dream”, he urges his people to recapture the glories of the past through a national rejuvenation. In another, the “New Silk Road”, he looks back in time to envisage a future buoyed by closer ties across Eurasia.
So wide-ranging is the New Silk Road initiative to build vast infrastructure projects among 64 countries linked by China’s ancient trade routes that the plan encompasses a full set of Beijing’s modern development goals, including promoting the use of the renminbi in international investment and finance.
The scheme, also called “One Belt One Road” (OBOR), is set to turbocharge renminbi usage, emphasising the Chinese currency’s role as a vehicle to raise capital in overseas financial centres to fund railways, highways, ports, airports and other infrastructure projects across Eurasia.