CAG Executive Director, James Wong gave the keynote address on “What Business Leaders Need to Know about ‘One Belt, One Road” to over 90 University of Washington attendees including 15 Foster school MBA students visiting Hong Kong and China.

Starting with the premise that Americans, and in particular American media, have not paid enough attention to this important global economic development, he asked the audience to think of the Asian perspective of One Belt One Road.  ‘You can’t react correctly until you have insight as to how the other side sees things.’

This Chinese Global Initiative is no less than rebuilding the new Silk Road between Asia and Europe.  The same trade corridor claimed the wealthiest nations on earth for over 1000 years.

James explained that One Belt and One Road (OBOR) is more than physical connections. OBOR aims to create the world’s largest platform for economic cooperation, including policy coordination, trade and financing collaboration, and social and cultural cross-pollination. This is the globalization of flyover Asia. This going to be bigger than NAFTA and the EU combined.  It through the AIIB, China also aims to build a fourth international infrastructure financing alternative to the World Bank, IMF, and ADB.

Success of the initiative both presents enormous economic opportunities for US businesses in infrastructure, engineering, banking, machinery sales, as well as real estate and emerging consumer markets; as well as unprecedented risk.  If the US misses, underplays, or ignores OBOR, it risks being marginalized when eventually 65% of the world’s population will inter-trade without the need for any US participation.

He concluded by calling on the present and future UW leaders to spread the word and get involved.
Click the below link to see the speech