In un articolo pubblicato sul Guardian, Ai Weiwei, attivista e artista cinese fra i più celebri, riflette sull’espansionismo della Cina e sul progetto della cosiddetta “Nuova Via della Seta”, che dovrebbe unire fisicamente e commercialmente la Cina con il resto del mondo, in particolare i Paesi in via di sviluppo.

About 145 nations have joined the belt and road initiative by signing a memorandum of understanding with China, including countries in Europe, south-east Asia and the Middle East. It is an initiative that mainly focuses on basic infrastructure and engineering projects, such as transportation through rail, road and ports, to facilitate global trade and offer solutions to the problems of developing countries – as the Chinese saying goes, “If you want to be rich, build roads first.” Many people in China, and also in the developing world, feel optimistic about this initiative, and mock Europe and the US for failing to match its vision…

L’origine del progetto sarebbe da ritrovarsi in un articolo pubblicato da Mao Zedong nel 1970, in cui invitava i Paesi in via di sviluppo a unirsi alla Cina per sconfiggere l’imperialismo anglo-americano. Una visione che ha modellato il pensiero di un’intera generazione.

I belong to the same generation as Xi. We were encouraged to “have the entire motherland in mind and the whole world in view” and to start revolutions everywhere in the world. These arrogant ideas relate to the ideology of that era. Based on these thoughts, the belt and road initiative is a strategic move that corresponds to the country’s rapid development. The question is: will its goals be achieved in a world that is much more complicated than it once was?

L’articolo è impreziosito dalle immagini del fotografo italiano Davide Monteleone, che dal 2014 testimonia lo sviluppo industriale e infrastrutturale della Cina in patria e all’estero.

The images clearly depict China’s strategic ambitions, very different from the original Silk Road, which operated from around 130BC until the mid-15th century. The Silk Road was a network of trade routes, whereas the belt and road initiative embeds a political ambition beyond commerce. The issue in question here is: who will be the centre of the world? Who will rise to world power?