The Belt and Road Initiative in the Global Context

Linggui Wang, Jianglin Zhao

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9789813277267
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Asian Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This book explores a wide range of topics related to the policies and implementation of the BRI. The topics include the associated risks and challenges, new opportunities for multilateral cooperation, and approaches to promoting the BRI among participating countries. The book analyzes how people and governments in Russia, Egypt, Pakistan, the US, Malaysia, Turkey, Singapore, India and 22 other countries respond to the BRI, and BRI's impact on the dynamics of national, regional and global development.

The book's chapters are based on papers presented at the 'International Symposium of the Belt and Road Initiative in the Global Perspective', co-organized by the National Institute for Global Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Beijing Foreign Studies University in Beijing. A total of 39 experts from more than 30 countries have contributed to this book.

Contents:

• Preface
• About the Editors
• Challenges and Opportunities Faced by the Belt and Road Initiative
• The Belt and Road Initiative and Construction of 'Hard Power'
• The Belt and Road Initiative and Construction of 'Soft Power'
• Views on the Belt and Road Initiative from Chinese Scholars
• Index

Readership: Academics, professionals, policy-makers and students interested in China's Belt and Road InitiativeChina's Belt and Road Initiative;Geopolitics;Geoeconomics;Political Risks;Economic Risks;Security Risks;Ecological Risks;Infrastructure Construction;Coordinated Development00

Part 1

Challenges and Opportunities Faced by the Belt and Road Initiative

CHAPTER 1

The Belt and Road Initiative: Challenges, Cooperation, and Action

Wang Linggui and Zhao Jianglin

National Institute for Global Strategy,
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China

1.1Introduction

On 10 and 11 October 2016, the Symposium on the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative in the Global Perspective was held in Beijing, jointly organized by the National Institute of Global Strategy (NIGS) of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU). Discussions on topics about the new global situation and challenges confronting the construction of the B&R, the multidisciplinary cooperation correlated to the B&R Initiative, and the solutions and suggestions to the promotion of the B&R Initiative were held with 31 foreign representatives from Russia, Egypt, Pakistan, US, Malaysia, Turkey, Singapore, India, and other 22 countries and 39 experts from China. At the opening ceremony, speeches were delivered by Mr. Cai Fang, an academician and a research fellow, Vice President of the CASS, and Director of NIGS; Mr. Masood, Pakistani Ambassador to China; Mr. Liew Chin Tong, Malaysia Congressman; Mr. Huang Ping, research fellow, and Director of the Europe Institute of CASS; and Peng Long, President of BFSU.

The agenda of the conference is discussed in the following sections.

1.2The B&R Initiative: New Route to Promoting Version 2.0 of Globalization

At present, “anti-globalization” seems to be a prevailing trend. There are quite a few factors that lead to this consequence, such as the long-term slumps of the global economy, continuous regional conflicts, and disastrous aftermath of terrorism. All the above factors have led to a sharp drop in the enthusiasm of the developed countries toward global issues. In this background, the birth of the B&R Initiative is definitely a positive response to “anti-globalization”. Hereby, the experts at the conference agree the following:

First, the B&R Initiative is a grand strategy for China to expand its opening-up policy, to establish a new pattern of open development, to forge version 2.0 of globalization, and to put the win–win cooperation concept into practice.

•The American scholars believe that it is China that has brought the new changes in world geopolitics and geoeconomics, and that China is becoming a very important power in globalization, which would bring revolutionary influence on global affairs.

•The Indian scholars believe that the B&R Initiative is a framework of geoculture instead of geopolitics and the Silk Road Economic Belt could be regarded as the second globalization initiated by the oriental world. At present, the Silk Road Economic Belt covers 63% of the world population, which represents 29% of the global GDP. The GDP ratio could be increased to 50% if the concepts of Make In India, Indian necklace along Himalayas, and India coastal necklace are connected to the B&R Initiative and if the Eurasian Economic Union initiative could be docked with the B&R Initiative.

•The Chinese scholars proposed to put the B&R Initiative in the background of the transforming global role. The multiple power structure of the B&R Initiative should be strengthened to produce an everlasting power that is classified phase by phase. From the perspective of the free trade zone, some Chinese scholars believe that the pilot free trade zone is version 2.0 of the opening-up policy that is initiated by China in the current international situation. It is a grand strategy of synchronized integration at home and abroad. It represents the participation of China in formulating the new rules for international trade.

Second, the B&R Initiative has achieved significant accomplishments for the last three years in different aspects, such as its top design, policy communication, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people bond. A cooperation environment of discussion, work, and sharing among different countries is cultivated.

•The Russian scholars believe that the B&R Initiative is in line with the regional and global trend of development. The B&R Initiative is not weakening or eliminating the current economy system. Instead, it represents the desire for peace, mutual benefit, and exchange of the international community. It helps promote free trade and fair cooperation, which is in the interest of all the countries. The realization of docking should be encouraged between the B&R Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union, which has been advocated by Russia.

•The Indian scholars believe that China is promoting the B&R Initiative through the pattern of geoeconomics. The geopolitics and the geoeconomics should be related in the future. In other words, India should dock its own development strategy with the B&R Initiative.

•The Philippine scholars believe that the B&R Initiative of China is an international strategy. All the participating countries can relate it with their own national development projects. The Philippines is also very willing to actively participate in the construction of the B&R Initiative advocated by China.

•The Chinese scholars also put forward that the B&R Initiative is actually a major adjustment of China’s opening-up policy and a readjustment of China’s layout of its geoeconomics. The B&R Initiative is mainly one of developing westward and opening to the developing countries.

Third, the B&R Initiative is transforming from a “China initiative” into a global action in the past three years. For the past few years, the B&R Initiative has complied with the inherent international law of economy development, adapted actively to the new trend of global economic cooperation, reached broad international consensus, and won the world’s attention in the process of revitalizing the global economy. Therefore, it has been recognized as the “China prescription” for the current international economic and financial epidemic, and the “China approach” to solve the present problem.

•The Egyptian scholars look forward to more personnel exchanges with China and other countries. The ascension of political stability in Egypt would allow the country to play an important role in China’s B&R Initiative by connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa.

•Sri Lanka actively supports the construction of the B&R Initiative because the initiative is in line with the development vision of the country. Relying on its own geographic advantage in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka could become a key hub on the Maritime Silk Road.

•The Kazakhstan scholars believe that the B&R Initiative can strengthen trade and economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and other countries to improve regional integration.

•The Indonesian scholars believe that the development strategy and vision of their country are a close fit to the B&R Initiative.

•Laos fully supports the B&R Initiative and aims at breaking away from the poverty caused by being a landlocked nation and obtaining economic development.

•Japanese scholars believe that the railway brings positive impact to all the relevant countries including Russia.

•By all means, the Malaysian scholars do not want to see the B&R Initiative as a game for interests between the big powers. Instead, it will bring us a new world if healthy free trade can promote peace of the world.

1.3Challenges Facing the B&R Initiative: The General and Specific Risks

The participating experts at the conference generally believe that the B&R Initiative is transforming from the stage of conceptual explanation and publicity toward that of practical directions. In general, the major existing and potential risks and challenges are as follows:

(a)Security risks: There are three main categories: competition of power strategy hedges against the B&R Initiative; regional conflicts; terrorism and other non-traditional security threats.

(b)Political risks: There are also three main categories of political instability: color revolution; regime change; and secession.

(c)Economic risks: The B&R Initiative gives priority to economic projects. As an economic initiative, the B&R Initiative contains financing risks, credit risks for execution of contracts, profit return risks, and technical risks in the infrastructure construction.

(d)Ecological risks: The area that the B&R Initiative covers includes basically ecologically fragile regions. The infrastructure construction would bring certain threats to local ecological system.

(e)Social risks: Ethnic and tribal contradictions, religious, sectarian, and cultural conflicts, international crimes, drugs, epidemic diseases, etc. can turn to deadlock against the progress of the B&R Initiative.

Besides the general types of challenges, the B&R Initiative also faces specific problems in different countries.

•The Indian scholars discussed the reason why there were no enthusiastic responses from them during the discussion. First, the B&R Initiative was just brought up, and India was watching the actions and effects of the B&R Initiative. Second, India is taking some regions of the area as its own backyard. Third, there are traditional and non-traditional security risks. Fourth, India is concerned that the B&R Initiative may affect the stability of its northeastern area. Fifth, India is worried that China might form encirclement around India through the Maritime Silk Road. Besides, the China–India trade deficit also caused concern for India.

•The Pakistani scholars refuted the suspicions from the Indian scholars about the construction of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The CPEC is a cooperative practice between China and Pakistan. Pakistan does not need approval from India on whether it can carry out cooperation with any other countries.

•The Burmese scholars believe that the B&R Initiative is a kind of game-changing initiative, after comparing it with the World Bank, the AIIB, and the Bretton Woods System. The Chinese scholars believe that the B&R Initiative is improving and complementing the rules of the world trade system instead of changing the rules.

•The Sri Lankan scholars brought up the problem of the loan standard for the B&R Initiative. This would affect the operation of capital, which would further affect the overall progress of the B&R Initiative.

•The Afghan scholars put forward that the B&R construction should avoid the four mistakes that happened in the construction of Afghanistan with the US involvement. First, it should not leave Afghanistan highly dependent on foreign aid. Instead, economic development should rely on investment. Second, there should be emphasis on fight against terrorist militarism. Third, it should rely on regional participants. Fourth, it should work on regional consensus, and improve sustainable development.

•The scholars from the Central Asian countries believe that the countries in Central Asia should fully understand that China is a very important partner for economic cooperation in the region. The leaders of China and Russia should participate in the regional construction in a constructive way. Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) did not fulfill its mission fully. With the annual budget of $4 billion, the result is not very obvious; therefore, China and Russia should carry out new cooperation under the frame of the B&R Initiative. The transparency issue should be given more attention. The infrastructure projects should not be taken as means for personal gains.

•As a third party, the Korean scholars put forward that China should pay attention to the concerns of the countries on its periphery. For example, countries that have conflicts with China on the South China Sea worry that the construction of the Maritime Silk Road might collide with their territorial sovereignty and interests.

1.4People-to-People Bond Equally Important as Infrastructure Construction

The seminar highly stressed the importance of people-to-people bond and regarded it as equally important as the construction of the infrastructure. In the past, foreign experts paid more attention to the construction of the “hardware” aspects of the B&R Initiative, the infrastructure. Today, people regard the software of the B&R Initiative as a key area, many experts expressed that t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Series Editors
• Title
• Copyright
• Preface
• About the Editors
• Contents
• Part 1 Challenges and Opportunities Faced by the Belt and Road Initiative
• Part 2 The Belt and Road Initiative and Construction of “Hard Power”
• Part 3 The Belt and Road Initiative and Construction of “Soft Power”
• Part 4 Views on the Belt and Road Initiative from Chinese Scholars
• Index