Under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this project examines the evolving mechanisms of Chinese private land investments in Southeast Asia, with a focus on institutional adaptation, spatial expansion, and agrarian transformation. While most existing studies emphasize Global North–South investment dynamics and state-led projects, this research shifts the lens to intra–Global South flows and the growing role of Chinese private entrepreneurs. It explores how these actors navigate complex and varied institutional environments, engage with local land governance systems, and restructure their investment models in response to accelerating regional integration and cross-border infrastructure development, such as the China–Laos Railway. At the same time, the project investigates how these investments drive significant changes in agricultural systems—including a shift from short-cycle cash crops to longer-term, high-value plantations—reshaping labor regimes, land control strategies, and rural economies. Through multi-sited fieldwork, policy analysis, and stakeholder interviews, this research contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of how private capital is reshaping land, institutions, and agriculture under the BRI in the Global South.