We’re entering a new epoch, says global strategy adviser and author Parag Khanna. We are now in what Khanna calls the “Asian Century.”

With 4.5 billion people, Asia is the most populous continent, making the world 60 percent Asian. The new Asian system taking shape spans from Saudi Arabia to Japan, Russia to Australia, and Turkey to Indonesia, linked through trade, finance, infrastructure, and diplomatic networks that together represent 40 percent of global GDP.

“If we have an ahistorical view where we just look right now at this moment, we’d be saying China’s rise is the big story in the world,” said Khanna, author of The Future is Asian. “Actually, I would say that the Asianization of Asia, Asia coming back together, is the biggest story in the world.”

Khanna discusses how the rise of Asia means new values around business, politics and society.

One way Asia is coming together is through physical connections. Announced in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aimed to expand existing transportation routes along the ancient Silk Road and create new corridors, connecting China and 65 other countries. These routes span nearly the entire Asian continent and even extend into Europe.

In the second part of his interview with Full Frame, Khanna describes the impact of this massive infrastructure project.

From music to literature to the film, how is the “Asian Century” influencing the arts? Meet artist Victo Ngai and architect Shi Lun.