Contents Preface v Acknowledgements vii Executive summary ix 1. The Silk Road Economic Belt dissected 1 1.1. Defining the scope and aims 2 1.2. Exploring China’s motivations 4 1.3. Relation to China’s evolving security concepts 12 1.4. Conclusions 16 2. The Silk Road Economic Belt: interaction with regional security dynamics 19 2.1. Interaction with security dynamics in Central Asia 19 2.2. Interaction with security dynamics in South Asia 28 2.3. Compatibility with Russian security interests 39 2.4. Conclusions 42 3. The Silk Road Economic Belt: an opportunity for European Union–China 45 cooperation? 3.1. Compatibility with European Union security interests 45 3.2. Ways forward for the European Union 50 Annex I. United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) 57 Annex II. Abbreviations 59 List of figures Figure 2.1. Map of Central Asia illustrating Silk Road Economic Belt 24 projects and fragility indicators per state Figure 2.2. Map of South Asia illustrating China–Pakistan Economic Corridor 34 projects and interaction with South Asian security dynamics