Skeptics will scoff, but China is on course to replace the United States as the leading power in Asia. China is still not trusted: The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is stirring up as much fear as hope, and few countries buy its diplomatic mantra about delivering “mutual benefits.” Yet China’s economic diplomacy is bold, forward-looking, and practical. No doubt it will deliver some costly boondoggles along the way, but the BRI will also bring useful infrastructure, new trade routes, and better connectivity to Asia and Europe. Following President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Beijing—not Washington and its allies—is now leading the charge for greater Asian integration.

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