As últimas cinco décadas das relações sino-portuguesas: A busca pela “Belt and Road Initiative”

Abstract

nticipates the future of this bilateral relationship, ten years after the inception of the elt and Road Initiative (B&RI). These five decades can be divided into three major pe- iods and seven phases. On the one hand, in 2013, capitalizing on the transformation of its economy, China launched the B&RI. This initiative can be perceived as a ma- or global infrastructural, multi-sectoral, and multi-actor economic policy, designed not only to foster access with consent to markets and production centers, but also to ontribute to creating a network of economic flows (Leandro & Duarte, 2020b, p. xii) s well as to advance new forms of interaction for development, and perhaps even a new model for international relations. On another hand, Portugal regards the B&RI s an opportunity to continue de-bordering (Leandro & Duarte, 2020a), capitalizing on the unique advantages of Sino-Portuguese diplomatic relations, namely the Por- uguese heritage in the Macau SAR, Portugal’s membership in the Community of the Portuguese-speaking countries, where it is the second most important economy, its European Union (EU) membership, and its position as one of the world’s top 50 most dynamic economies. The B&RI has the potential to reduce the peripheral geographic ondition of Portugal in the context of the EU space, explore the immense opportu- nities offered by the expansion of the continental shelf in the context of the strategic Portuguese triangle (Azores-Madeira-Continental Portugal), and redesign its cooper- tive relations among Portuguese-speaking countries, among which Portugal ranks first in the “doing business index” (2022). These different phases, perspectives, and nterests lead to the formulation of our research question: Based on the B&RI and the reunique relationship between China and Portugal, what can we expect from the future of Sino-Portuguese cooperation? This question is particularly important in the context of the current geo-economic tensions between global economic powers, and the fact that Portugal is an EU member state. This paper adopts an economic diplomacy model as a main reference.