Belt and Road Initiative - a project worth more than the sum of its parts

ANNOUNCED by President Xi Jinping in Davos in January, China's inaugural Belt and Road Forum on May 14-15 comes at a historic inflection point in the course of economic evolution. China will showcase major infrastructure projects to advance this ambitious initiative, but the tone world leaders adopt in their dialogue on trade could prove just as significant.

The backdrop to the forum is one of uncertainty. The new US administration is reversing past policies that were designed to increase global economic integration. The UK is trying to negotiate a new relationship with its continental partners in the EU. Recent elections in several countries have marked a political shift from the old order of left versus right to a new order of nationalist versus internationalist.

As policymakers and negotiators wrestle with their new terms of engagement, trade is evolving too. Digital innovations and advances in logistics are creating opportunities by opening new markets for businesses and challenging deeply-entrenched operating models.