One of the biggest stories in Asian business is China's One Belt, One Road initiative, an economic and diplomatic program that could transform trade.

The future of trade in Asia could depend heavily on what becomes of China's expansive One Belt, One Road initiative, which calls for massive investment in and development of trade routes in the region. In this episode of the McKinsey Podcast, recorded in May, McKinsey senior partners Joe Ngai and Kevin Sneader talk with Cecilia Ma Zecha about One Belt, One Road—what it really means, what it needs to become a reality, and why people should take it seriously.

Podcast transcript

Cecilia Ma Zecha: Hello, and welcome to this edition of the McKinsey Podcast. I'm Cecilia Ma Zecha, an editor with McKinsey Publishing, based in Singapore. Today we're going to be talking about one of the biggest stories in Asian business, China's One Belt, One Road initiative, arguably its most ambitious economic and diplomatic program since the founding of the People's Republic.