Under the ambitious leadership of President Xi Jinping, China is zealously transforming its wealth and economic power into potent tools of global political influence. But China’s foreign policy initiatives, even the vaunted “Belt and Road,” will be shaped and redefined as they confront the ground realities of local and regional politics outside China. In "China’s Western Horizon," Daniel S. Markey (A&S ’95), a scholar of international relations and former member of the U.S. State Department’s policy planning staff, previews how China’s efforts are likely to play out across the swath of Eurasia. In session three, SAIS's Vali Nasr discusses the book in the context of the Middle East.