Abstract
The ambition of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is to revive the silk road of Roman times which was used by merchants to carry trade across Eurasia. China’s proclaimed aspiration is to reconnect to the world through its ancient trade corridors, and to emphasize its role as a world trade power. Should the BRI or “new silk road” be understood as efforts from President Xi Jinping to project China’s power into both Eurasia and at the global level? Should it moreover be understood as China’s step forward to fill the leadership vacuum left by a perceived weakening USA in terms of international relations? The present economic climate is characterised by uncertainty and turbulence at the global level, with some economies shifting towards protectionist practices, and others, such as the United Kingdom, trying to regain some international recognition outside the EU. This turbulent climate appears to benefit Beijing who can position itself as a new leader in the global political economy, notably through its BRI. The article discusses the issues raised by China’s ambition to shape the current international economic order.
Highlights
As one of the oldest civilisations in the world, with substantial contributions in terms of philosophy, culture and science (Lu, 2004; Swaine, 2014), China has been able to position itself as the world’s second largest economy in a relatively short period of time
As the years went by, the relationship between the two countries became further complicated, but through different compromises, communiqués and time, the relationship eventually improved. This reached a high point in the 2000s, with China joining the Word Trade Organisation; this was followed by strong economic growth patterns until the year 2008, when the world economy was badly hit by the Global Economic and Financial Crisis (GEFC) with ramifications effects in China; this showed that China was definitely part of the global trading system
At the centre of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) ambitions, we find the financial pillar, as finance is considered as the lifeblood of a modern economy, and as such China needs to articulate a solid financial system that offers support to its initiative if it wishes to succeed
Summary
As one of the oldest civilisations in the world, with substantial contributions in terms of philosophy, culture and science (Lu, 2004; Swaine, 2014), China has been able to position itself as the world’s second largest economy in a relatively short period of time. Since 2010, China has been working on the New Silk Road idea, seeking to develop connectivity and cooperation projects across Eurasia, the Middle East, South-East Asia and part of East Africa; this new connectivity strategy involves more than sixty countries, and is based on the idea of keeping a global free trade regime and an open world economy. The BRI is considered as a titanic project that aims to build roads, bridges, and railroads to connect China with Eurasia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa over a period of more than 50 years, with President Xi Jinping’s ambition to bring radical changes to China’s foreign policy and to strengthen China’s position as an economic superpower (Chaisse & Matsushita, 2018).
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