For a long time, I was quite puzzled by the Road-and-Belt initiative. Then I saw a map much like this one - but which included it's current land route through Russia; and realized that the road to Europe, through Iran, is probably key. Previously, all Chinese trade with Europe going by land went through Russia. Although there are undoubtedly many purposes behind Road-and-Belt, including building up heavy construction capacity partly on other country's dime; I concluded that China forsees the possibility of being at odds with Russia, perhaps even in the near term - or later at a time when they are less dependent on Russian carbon fuels - and that China wants to ensure that any such confrontations happen without interfering with its economy.