When the British sent an embassy to the Chinese Emperor asking for trade rights and diplomatic equality in the 18th century, Qianlong swatted them away, saying that China was perfectly self-sufficient. As we all know, that didn’t end well for the Chinese. They have never gotten over the resulting conflict.
Xi’s ultimate objective is to create a China which, unlike Qianlong’s empire, actually is completely secure and self-sufficient. The overriding purpose of the New Silk Road is to create infrastructure, relationships, technology, and outposts which will eliminate any physical, military, or economic choke points for the Chinese economy.
Can it work? That, and how an invulnerable China would respond to the rest of the world, are the biggest geopolitical questions of the early 21st century. What I can say today is that it will be extremely difficult, but the Chinese have made a lot of progress, and the size of its market is a big asset.