Silk Road 2.0: China in a Post-Pandemic World

Deep sea submarine data cables are the lifeblood of the world’s electronic communications, allowing for Zoom calls, credit card transactions and YouTube videos. It’s no wonder China is ramping up its ambitions to build, own and operate such cables, as part of its Digital Silk Road across the world. Chinese telcos like Huawei, Zte, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom have been investing in the construction and maintenance of submarine cables. including as part of major international consortia. But China’s plans have raised serious security concerns in the West, with the potential for espionage and cyberwarfare. The US has deemed Chinese companies involved as a national security risk.