From the editors’ preface:

Matthias Niedenführ, a China studies expert with extensive experience on the ground, contextualizes the BRI as a brainchild of Xi Jinping within the larger story of China’s economic rise. He offers an analysis of key concepts promoted in China’s cultural diplomacy embedded within the political messaging. The notion of a Silk Road Spirit is illuminated by explaining the connotations of these concepts in Chinese traditional thinking. Referring to relevant feedback from empirical research with domestic so-called Confucian entrepreneurs, Niedenführ explains the assigned role of private companies as playing a supporting role in China’s external soft power strategy.