China is creating a network of ambitious land- and sea-based transport links to connect its booming economy with those of Europe and Africa. And it's wasting no time - designing incredible bespoke construction machines to get the job done fast.
President Xi Jinping's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013, aims to connect two-thirds of the world's population across 70 countries through a network of land links (the "belt") and sea routes (the "road").
Officials talk about lifetime investments worth trillions of dollars, sourced from banks, participating countries and the Chinese government.
The scheme is not without controversy. Critics point out that it burdens poor countries with billions of dollars of Chinese debt, and dismiss it as a projection of Chinese foreign policy.
Nevertheless, evidence of the Belt and Road can already be seen in China and beyond, where a fleet of new machines is building railways at considerable speed.