The Emperor's New Road cover art

The Emperor's New Road

China and the Project of the Century

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Emperor's New Road

By: Jonathan E. Hillman
Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

A prominent authority on China's Belt and Road Initiative reveals the global risks lurking within Beijing's project of the century.

China's Belt and Road Initiative is the world's most ambitious and misunderstood geoeconomic vision. To carry out President Xi's flagship foreign-policy effort, China promises to spend more than one trillion dollars for new ports, railways, fiber-optic cables, power plants, and other connections. It touches more than 130 countries and has expanded into the Arctic, cyberspace, and even outer space. Beijing promises that it is promoting global development, but Washington warns that it is charting a path to global dominance.

Taking listeners on a journey to China's projects in Asia, Europe, and Africa, Jonathan E. Hillman reveals how this grand vision is unfolding on the ground. As China pushes beyond its borders and deep into dangerous terrain, it is repeating the mistakes of the great powers that came before it, Hillman argues. If China succeeds, it will remake the world and place itself at the center of everything. But Xi may be overreaching: All roads do not yet lead to Beijing.

©2020 Jonathan E. Hillman (P)2020 Tantor 21st Century Modern Politics & Government China Taxation Russia Imperial Japan Tariff Africa Middle East Imperialism

Listeners also enjoyed...

 How China Loses cover art
The Avoidable War cover art
Has China Won? cover art
Three Tigers, One Mountain cover art
The Great Delusion cover art
Return of a King cover art
Don't Wait for the Next War cover art
This Mighty Scourge cover art
Stars with Stripes cover art
The Chinese Vortex cover art
A Little History of the World cover art
The World Turned Upside Down cover art
The America-China Divide cover art
Guns, Germs and Steel cover art
The Bridge cover art
What Went Wrong with Brexit cover art
All stars
Most relevant
A great, well-read analysis of a topical subject told with skill and literary flare. Avoids clichés and hyperbole of a lot of western journalism to highlight an ambitious strategic move which falls foul of similar problems of corruption and mismanagement which western efforts at infrastructure development incurred.

Fascinating Book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.