Belt and Road Initiative

The more than 250-mile, $6 billion railway is set to cut through the northern part of Laos and is primarily financed and built by the Chinese. So far, the project has mostly employed Chinese workers.

China's expansion into European ports is part of its new Maritime Silk Road, which aims to better connect the country to global commercial hubs. But this is about more than just moving cargo.

China has become the biggest lender on the African continent. The Nairobi-to-Mombasa railway is a symbol of Kenya's ambitions. But critics say China is saddling Kenya with unsustainable debt.

Chinese companies are building infrastructure and dams along the vast river that runs through five Southeast Asian countries before emptying into the South China Sea.

China has definitely risen. NPR's correspondents set out to find out what that entails, reporting from more than a dozen countries across the globe.