Despite its status as a Pacific power, the United States has been somewhat peripheral to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since the latter’s inception in late 2013. The United States does not host BRI investments and, like many other major countries, has not signed a formal cooperation agreement setting out terms and conditions for a US role in the BRI, even though some US firms have participated on an individual basis. Nevertheless, China has closely watched, and sought to influence, US policies and perspectives for two reasons: US support helps grant legitimacy to the BRI, and by extension, to one of President Xi Jinping’s legacy achievements, while active US opposition—alone or in concert with allies and partners—could undermine the BRI by casting aspersions on China’s motives and by providing alternatives to Asian states in need of development finance for large-scale infrastructure projects.¹

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