On 28 March, an “action plan” was jointly released by three agencies: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Commerce. This plan sets out a vision in which Chinese-led infrastructure construction, reduced tariffs, and simplified customs administration would allow trade to flow seamlessly between China and Europe by both rail and cargo ship.7 The action plan takes in every conceivable goal, from improving distributed supply chains to developing trade in services to increasing food security for the countries that participate in the project. In short, it is a statement of ambitions, which likely encompasses the priorities and pet projects of many dozens of bureaucratic actors. And Beijing has put its money where its mouth is. It has committed a total of about $100 billion to a trio of new infrastructure funds: $40 billion to the Central Asia-focused Silk Road Fund, $50 billion to a new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and $10 billion to the BRICS-led New Development Bank