What Will Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Mean for China’s Belt and Road?

This article explores the geoeconomic implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine for Eurasian infrastructure-based initiatives, particularly China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and International North South Transit Corridor (driven by Russia, Iran, India). It discusses how they are likely to be reconfigured. It then addresses one unintended consequence of the Western-Russian swift decoupling: the absorption of Russia’s and EAEU’s economic and geographic strengths by China’s economy and BRI’s geography. The article then offers a forward-looking policy avenue for the EU and US to mitigate this outcome.