China’s New Silk Route Initiative: Political and Economic Implications for the Middle East and Southeast Asia

Abstract

:The liberal economic policies which have been developed in China in the 1980s have significantly produced a “new demographic” reality with an increasing proportion of about 350 to 400-million strong Chinese middle class. This new reality is starting to affect the conduct and direction of China’s foreign policy particularly toward countries in Middle East and Southeast Asian regions, which hold considerable amount of energy resources, such as crude oil and gas. The “One Belt One Road” initiative (OBOR), proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, signals the reinvigoration of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Route as a necessary measure to meet future Chinese demand for energy and open markets for its surplus products. Over the last two years, various Middle East countries, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Israel have watched China in cultural and political arenas. China’s economic needs have triggered this development. The same year, China’s president visited Indonesia and pledged a $40 billion fund to develop infrastructures along the route. With the new silk route proposal, China would be able to guarantee not only the stable energy supply from the Middle East but also access the markets of Southeast Asian countries. However, diverse views arising from this proposal questioned China’s real intentions. Has China’s proposal been designed to reorder Asia and contain US pivot to Asia? Does it signal the enlargement of China’s regional influence using its economic might? What does this policy say about ASEAN member countries, particularly the Philippines? This article however argues that China’s regional and international expansion is a natural byproduct of its economic weight; it also argues that the Middle East and maritime Southeast Asian countries can expect maximum economic and political gains from joining the “One Belt One Road” initiative.