This Strategic Insight aims to expand on Paul Dibb and Richard Brabin-Smith’s powerful and provocative paper, Australia’s management of strategic risk in the new era. Dibb and Brabin-Smith, two of Australia’s leading strategic thinkers, examined China’s growing assertiveness in our region.

This paper looks beyond our region and beyond China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative (BRI) to highlight how China is expanding its influence in Africa and the Middle East. It examines some selected cases, such as Zimbabwe, Israel, Turkey and Iran and tries to situate the BRI in President Xi Jinping’s grand strategy.