Commentary Xi Jinping’s ascension to supreme power in China has resulted in a number of ChiCom (Chinese Communist) global initiatives being pursued diligently in the mainland and abroad. Perhaps the most important of these is the Belt and Road Initiative. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, also called One Belt One Road), which Xi announced with great fanfare in 2013, initially consisted of two major components: the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Other initiatives have been added in recent years, including the Digital Silk Road, the Arctic Silk Road, the Health Silk Road, and the Space Silk Road. The “silk road” is a very useful metaphor for the ChiComs, as it carries historical, cultural, and psychological ramifications that can be exploited and propagandized (for example, most Westerners know who Marco Polo was). The ancient Silk Road existed for about 1,400 years, connecting China and …