Revisiting China-Middle East Trade Interdependence: A Perspective of Global Value Chains

PurposeTo delve into the integration of global logistics and supply chain networks amidst the digital transformation era. This study aims to investigate the potential role of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in facilitating the integration of global flows encompassing both tangible goods and intangibles. Additionally, the study seeks to incorporate third-party logistics activities into a comprehensive global logistics and supply chain integration framework.Design/methodology/approachPrior research is synthesised into a global logistics and supply chain integration framework. A case study was undertaken on Yuan Tong (YTO) express group to investigate the framework, employing qualitative data analysis techniques. The study specifically examined the context of the BRI to enhance comprehension of its impact on global supply chains. Information was collected in particular to two types of supply chain flows, the physical flow of goods, and intangible information and cash flows.FindingsThe proposed framework aligns well with the case study, leading to the identification of global logistics and supply chain integration enablers. The results demonstrate a range of ways BRI promotes global logistics and supply chain integration.Research limitations/implicationsThe case study, with multiple examples, focuses on how third-party logistics firms can embrace global logistics and supply chain integration in line with BRI. The case study approach limits generalisation, further applications in different contexts are required to validate the findings.Originality/valueThe framework holds promise for aiding practitioners and researchers in gaining deeper insights into the role of the BRI in global logistics and supply chain integration within the digital era. The identified enablers underscore the importance of emphasising key factors necessary for success in navigating digital transformation within global supply chains.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) connects the People’s Republic of China (PRC) mainly by road and maritime transport routes to the European Union (EU) through Central Asia, the Middle East, and adjacent waterways. As the Initiative continues to grow, it positions the PRC at the center of the largest concentration of the world’s population, capital, labor production potential, energy, trade, and investment and financial funds that will inevitably increase China’s overall geopolitical importance. Through the BRI, China has designed a long-term economic strategy of new external relations to promote stable economic growth and development among participants and the involved neighboring countries. This work studies three key countries in the middle section of the overland connection between China and the EU: Iran and Turkey in the Middle East and Kazakhstan in Central Asia. These three countries are crucial for the success of the BRI. Each has a substantial population and/or a sizable territorial expanse. Iran and Kazakhstan belong to the world’s key hydrocarbon-rich countries. Turkey and Iran have relatively diversified industries, and both are militarily active beyond their state borders. The diverse external policy orientations of Kazakhstan, Iran, and Turkey (among other countries involved in the BRI) have established regional networks for cooperation on the BRI. Numerous studies and publications on the origin, nature, and activities of the BRI exist and continue to grow, however, empirical studies on the opportunities and challenges for each of the countries along the BRI remain relatively underdeveloped. The objective of this work is to fill in that gap by expanding investigations of the BRI’s economic activities (namely trade, investment, and finance) in Kazakhstan, Iran, and Turkey through a comparative case study. We argue that the BRI provides new opportunities for Kazakhstan, Iran, and Turkey to develop their economies. The realization of Chinese energy and infrastructure projects in developed as well as underdeveloped (sub)regions is creating a foundation on which other Chinese companies can develop and extend their global value chains and/or cooperate with local companies, potentially leading toward the integration of the Eurasian economies and related industries, with China at its center. However, the process of deepening diplomatic and economic relations between China and the Middle East, Central Asia, and particularly our cases is not without problems. The main challenges the BRI faces are related to domestic political (in)stability and the geopolitical economy. China is able to mobilize all Middle Eastern and Central Asian states in the context of its BRI projects, which is the main concern for the United States, leading to a deeper rift between the two that is set to become the main geopolitical reality of the region. Simultaneously, the opportunity to cooperate with China, and therefore balance against the US hegemony as a “counter-hegemonic state”, is one of the attractive forces for states in these two regions.

This paper investigates the relationship between China’s trade agreements (TAs) and partner countries’ upgrade in global value chains (GVCs). We focus on the experience of China and relate China’s TAs with one belt and one road (OBOR) initiative. A structural equation model (SEM) is applied on a dataset including 216 countries and regions to identify the direct and indirect effects of China’s TAs and OBOR initiative on its export, outwards foreign direct investment (OFDI) and partner economy’ GVCs upgrade over the period 2010–2015. We find that China’s TA partner countries are more likely to be included in the OBOR initiative than those non-TA partner countries. The positive effects of China’s TAs and OBOR initiative on China’s export, outwards foreign direct investment (OFDI) and partner countries’ upgrade in GVCs differ across country groups at the different locations of GVCs. Both vertical and horizontal spillover effects exist in China’s TAs. Therefore, the partner countries at low end and middle of GVCs might benefit more from TAs with China than those richer countries at the high end of GVCs.

This study revisits the relationship between trade and growth, emphasizing the functions of the global value chain (GVC). This is a pioneer study to empirically evaluate the impact of GVC trade on the economic growth of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations from the perspective of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The objective of this article is to analyze the potential contribution of BRI in the development of these countries backward, forward and sectoral-level GVC participation. We employed second-generation econometric techniques for this empirical analysis over the period 1990–2022. To ensure the robustness of the results of cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL), we used the augmented mean group (AMG) and common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) models. The results indicate that forward and backward GVC involvement increases economic growth for SAARC countries. On the contrary, due to improper implementation of domestic policies, economic environment and inadequate absorptive capacity, GVC participation comes with a negative impact on the economic growth of the sample countries. The sectoral GVC trade in manufacturing industries is linked to a favourable impact on growth, while sectoral GVC trade-in service shows a negative association with gross domestic product (GDP). The results of our analysis demonstrate that GVCs are a driver of economic growth. Countries can unlock potential gains by implementing policies that promote participation in GVCs and by strengthening domestic fundamentals through regional collaborations within the BRI.

Introduction Jessica Keough (bio) In 2013, China's president Xi Jinping announced an initiative that would set the course for much of China's foreign policy toward its Eurasian neighbors. Consisting of two parts—an overland "belt" connecting China with Central Asia, Russia, South Asia, and Europe and a maritime "road" linking Chinese ports with those in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe—the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) envisions a vast network of railways, highways, ports, pipelines, and communication infrastructure spanning the Eurasian continent and facilitating trade, investment, and people-to-people exchange (see Figure 1). In 2015, Beijing announced a plan to develop six economic corridors to advance this initiative (see Figure 2). China's leadership has rallied behind BRI, pledging substantial investment, creating new financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Silk Road Fund, and making diplomatic commitments to countries along the proposed routes. To many observers, BRI appears to be an outline of China's ambitious new grand strategy, 1 but what do states in the region think of this initiative? The seven contributors to this Asia Policy roundtable seek to answer this question by examining how Asian states along this new Silk Road view BRI and its potential implications. Michael Clarke begins the roundtable with an essay that analyzes China's motivations and objectives. He concludes that BRI is motivated by Beijing's desire to resolve long-term domestic, economic, and geopolitical challenges by strengthening states in China's frontier regions, exporting Chinese capital and labor, and establishing an alternative to the current international order. BRI integrates these objectives into a strategy that furthers China's goal of returning to great-power status without provoking strong counterreactions. Andrew Small seeks to understand Pakistan's role in BRI through an examination of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Despite Pakistan and China's long history of an "all-weather friendship," previous joint infrastructure and economic projects have generally failed to deliver [End Page 66] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. China's Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Source: "West China Seeks Fortune on Modern Silk Road," Xinhua, May 15, 2016 ≈ http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-05/15/c_135360904.htm. Originally published in Chinese in Xinhua, 2014. Reprinted with minor changes from Nadège Rolland, China's Eurasia Century? Political and Strategic Implications of the Belt and Road Initiative (Seattle: National Bureau of Asian Research, 2017), 49. [End Page 67] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 2. The Six Economic Corridors of the Belt and Road Initiative Source: Hong Kong Trade Development Council Head Office, "The Belt and Road Initiative," January 21, 2016 ≈ http://china-trade-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/The-Belt-and-Road-Initiative/The-Belt-and-Road-Initiative-More-Information/obor/en/1/1X3CGF6L/1X0A36H1.htm. Reprinted from Rolland, China's Eurasia Century? 73. [End Page 68] on their rhetoric. Although both sides clearly stand to gain from CPEC and some progress has been made, long-standing challenges in Pakistan provide reason for skepticism that the project will in fact meet Beijing's goals. While not on board with BRI, India is closely watching the initiative, particularly CPEC. Harsh Pant and Ritika Passi argue in their essay that pressure is mounting on New Delhi to decide whether to remain on the sidelines. India is wary of the security implications of BRI, particularly for the contested area of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and for Indian Ocean ports and sea lanes; however, China's infrastructure development projects could be a boon that increases the region's economic interdependence and gives India leverage to shape the initiative from within. India thus faces challenging decisions as BRI unfolds. Russia, by contrast, has moved from caution to an embrace of BRI, at least for now. The initiative will expand China's presence not only in Central Asia, Russia's traditional sphere of influence, but also further westward in Turkey, the Middle East, and Europe. While Moscow recognizes this dilution of its own influence, Sebastien Peyrouse argues that Russia's economic crisis and the effects of Western sanctions have left...

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has played a pivotal role in shaping global trade, influencing China’s position in global value chains (GVCs), and integrating developing economies. This study conducts a systematic literature review to analyze the impact of the BRI on GVC participation and structural transformations in global trade. Following a rigorous search and selection process, relevant studies were identified, screened, and categorized into key thematic areas. The review follows a structured seven-step systematic review protocol, utilizing Scopus and Web of Science as primary databases. The review employs thematic synthesis to examine how infrastructure development, foreign direct investment (FDI), institutional frameworks, and trade policies under the BRI contribute to shifts in GVC positioning. Findings reveal that BRI-related investments enhance trade connectivity, promote industrial upgrading, and strengthen regional production linkages, enabling developing economies to move up the value chain. Meanwhile, China has leveraged the initiative to consolidate its role in high-value-added segments of GVCs. However, concerns regarding geopolitical risks, financial dependencies, and environmental implications highlight the complexity of BRI’s long-term effects. This study provides a structured synthesis of existing research, identifies gaps in literature, and offers insights into future studies on the evolving nexus between the BRI and GVCs.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by the People’s Republic of China, (PRC) has been noted by several scholars to be a massive project aimed at enhancing the Eurasian trade network. Some stakeholders have noted that the program appears to be altruistic. Although partner countries and the PRC both stand to gain from the program, it still leaves doubt in some scholars’ minds about the PRC’s main aim. This, to a large extent, could be one major factor why some European countries were slow to accept the program. However, it does not negate the fact that the program came when several European countries were in search of investments to lift their economies. The current study seeks to add to the pioneering body of literature on the BRI by focusing on a sample of 36 European countries and evaluating their global value chain (GVC) participation and positions before and after the BRI, and the impact on energy efficiency investment. The result shows an even GVC participation by most European countries before the BRI. There were negative and positive position indices of the GVCs after the BRI with a negative dominance. The dominant negative positions could be as a result of the initiative still being in its early stages; considering that a number of European countries were slow to adopt the BRI projects. The result showed no statistically significant prediction of the GVC participation in energy efficiency investment both before and after the BRI. The chapter provides policy recommendations on fostering the energy efficiency and green investments in BRI European countries.

Reminiscent of the ancient Silk Road formed during the Han Dynasty, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) evokes powerful memories of China’s glorious past and has significant implications on international relations. Through a network analysis approach, this paper critically examines how and under what conditions the BRI is able to shape the structure of geo-economic and geopolitical interactions in China’s image. Given the highly interdependent nature of the world today, a country’s ability to exert geo-economic and geopolitical power in the international system will not only depend on its inherent economic and military capabilities, but also its position in global networks. This paper analyzes the dynamic evolution of China’s network centrality in trade and security affairs from 1990 to 2014, drawing on novel data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Alliance Treaty Obligations and Provisions Project (ATOP). This paper argues that the BRI is likely to further enhance China’s central position in trade and global value chains (GVCs), but the overall structure of international security arrangements would remain largely unchanged, with the West still being highly dominant despite China’s rising political and military influence. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach and leveraging research on network science, international political economy, and security studies, this paper employs a structural perspective in understanding the geo-economic and geopolitical consequences of the BRI.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) may potentially reduce trade barriers between China and countries along the Belt and Road (BR) route, affecting the positions in Global Value Chains (GVCs) of agricultural products of these countries. This study explores the BRI influence on the GVC positions using a global computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and focusing on China and the BR countries. The study finds that the reduction of tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers between countries along ‘the Belt and Road’ results in increased producer prices and volumes of almost all agricultural products exported from China, which improves the position of China in the GVCs of these agricultural products in our best estimate scenario. Countries along the BR route also benefit from the reduction in trade barriers, with improved positions in the GVCs of agricultural products in the best estimate scenario, especially those products that have comparative advantages in GVCs.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping, aims to enhance economic relations between China and global regions, emphasizing sustainable development through renewable energy initiatives. Despite its potential benefits, concerns about the BRI's environmental and energy impacts persist, necessitating a comprehensive analysis. This systematic review and meta-analysis utilized a rigorous search across multiple databases and included studies from database inception to 2024. Criteria included research on the BRI's influence on energy, environment, and sustainable development, focusing on publications in energy, environmental science, economics, econometrics, and finance. Review encompassed 87 relevant documents, employing content analysis, bibliometric analysis, and systematic literature review techniques. Co-authorship, co-citation, and co-word analyses provided insights into research networks, thematic evolution, and keyword relationships. Findings highlighted the BRI's effects on green energy, carbon emission reduction, foreign direct investment, global value chains, and environmental sustainability, with notable contributions to understanding economic structures, trade patterns, and regulatory frameworks. Study contributes significantly to understanding how the BRI influences sustainable development, emphasizing the need for integrated impact assessments, governance frameworks, inclusive development, technological innovation, long-term environmental impacts, and policy evaluations. Future research directions include evaluating environmental laws, assessing social and environmental impacts, and promoting evidence-based policymaking for sustainable BRI initiatives. The Belt and Road Initiative's complex effects on energy, environment, and sustainable development underscore the importance of holistic assessments and interdisciplinary approaches to inform policymaking and achieve sustainable development goals within BRI projects.

How would GVCs participation affect carbon intensity in the “Belt and Road Initiative” countries?

This chapter uses the German supply chain act as a lens to examine the impact on corporate social responsibility (CSR) of China's belt and road initiative (BRI) and global supply chain management techniques. China's BRI seeks to improve infrastructure, trade, and investment links with various nations. This chapter describes the BRI and how it may alter global supply chains in ways that raise or lower risks and possibilities related to sustainability and human rights. The chapter analyzes China's potential to advance green and socially responsible business practices along the BRI. A novel Chinese interpretation of the German supply chain act and its potential application inside the BRI are discussed. The chapter highlights the importance of worker rights and environmental preservation as it addresses the potential of technologies like blockchain inside the BRI framework to improve transparency, accountability, and traceability. The chapter also emphasizes the financial advantages of ethical supply chain management.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a significant, long-term project launched by the Chinese government in cooperation with several other nations The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a significant, long-term project launched by the Chinese government in cooperation with several other nations. It aims to hasten the global economic growth rate by promoting trade facilitation and improving logistics. This article lists the logistical and supply chain developments connected to the BRI. These innovations include a wide range of topics, including creating new trade routes and modes, planning effective supply chains, lowering logistical obstacles across international borders, and encouraging entrepreneurship. These advances are already underway in some instances, but others are constantly being developed. By using them, firms may improve operational efficiency and produce a profit. The BRI's promise has to be realized by introducing new work procedures, using cutting-edge technology, aligning incentives, working with other firms, and improving planning. There are several chances for scholars to investigate when it comes to removing obstacles and maximizing the advantages of the BRI. Researchers may help create solutions to overcome these obstacles and allow the BRI's members to benefit from the accompanying economic benefits by exploring these issues. KEYWORDS: Belt and Road Initiative, Global supply chain, Logistics routes, Infrastructure uncertainties

This study examines the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on China's export potential at the product level. Using country–product‐level data from the Centre d'Etudes Prospectives d'Informations Internationales‐Base pour l'Analyse du Commerce International (CEPII‐BACI), which includes 5,049 product types across 196 economies from 2007 to 2022, it explores the trade effects of the BRI and its mechanisms from the perspective of global value chains. The results indicate that the BRI has increased China's product export potential significantly to participating countires. The BRI has had the greatest impact on capital goods and labor‐ and capital‐intensive industries. The effect has been most pronounced in China's exports to Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Europe. The mechanism analysis reveals that the BRI has improved the division of labor in the global value chains for participating countries along the BRI, strengthened China's position in their output supply chains, and stimulated the growth of China's exports.

China's Belt and Road Initiative and Its Implications for Southeast Asia Hong Yu (bio) During state visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in 2013, Xi Jinping announced the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and the sea-based 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, respectively. Shortly after that, these two initiatives were combined to form one unified concept, known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This grand initiative, comprising various routes by sea and land, is intended to connect China with Southeast and South Asia, Central Asia, Pacific Oceania, Africa, and Europe. BRI is centered on both soft and hard infrastructure connectivity, aiming to forge an integrated and extensive network of regional infrastructure with China at its hub. BRI has gradually emerged as a top Chinese national strategy. Given China's emergence as a global power through industrial redeployment and outward investment, this initiative could reshape the geopolitical and geoeconomic landscape of Asia and beyond. BRI signals a shift in China's foreign policy and a departure from its long-held low-profile approach. Since Xi came to power in 2012, the Chinese government has adopted a far more proactive foreign policy stance, driven by global thinking.1 BRI serves as the key driver to advance China's interests overseas and demonstrates China's growing confidence and aspirations to be a rule-shaper in the economic governance of the region and beyond. Meanwhile, the demise of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), following the withdrawal of the United States, offers China further leeway to promote its New Silk Road agenda. The TPP's failure will increase the international momentum behind BRI to accelerate regional economic cooperation and integration through forging infrastructure, trade, and investment linkages. For the Southeast Asian countries, regional economic integration plays a very important role in mitigating external uncertainties and global economic vulnerabilities. The collapse of the TPP hit certain participating countries within Southeast Asia very hard, particularly Singapore. Being a tiny nation without an economic hinterland, Singapore has developed as the [End Page 117] most open and trade-dependent economy in the region. China's realization of BRI depends on the support and participation of other countries; in particular, the neighboring Southeast Asian countries are vital to the success of this grand initiative. The Southeast Asian countries, particularly developing countries like Indonesia and the Philippines, have largely welcomed BRI, which aims to promote close regional trade and investment linkage based on the improvement of interregional physical connectivity. Southeast Asia needs to focus consistently on constructing infrastructure in order to unleash the region's economic growth potential. The Southeast Asian countries consider that participating in BRI will help address their serious infrastructure deficits and accelerate industrial and economic growth. China has offered much-needed investment for connectivity-related infrastructure construction.2 This essay will first examine the opportunities for Southeast Asian countries to participate in BRI and then consider their perspectives on the challenges for the initiative. Opportunities for Southeast Asia Arising from BRI China's rise to become the world's second-largest economy and the largest trading nation has exerted a very powerful pull on the Southeast Asian economies. China has become the largest trading partner for all Southeast Asian countries except for the Philippines. The region, for its part, has benefited enormously from China's economic growth. It has taken advantage of the Sinocentric regional production network created since China's admission to the World Trade Organization in the early 2000s to export raw materials, intermediate goods, and mineral resources to China for final manufacturing into industrial goods before their export to the major consumption markets in the West. Setting aside for the moment the underlying geostrategic and geopolitical considerations, the potential benefits from BRI for Southeast Asia could be enormous. China has committed enormous financial resources to build a number of large-scale transportation projects aiming to improve interregional connectivity. For example, construction has already started on the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway in Indonesia and on a railway linking Mohan, on the Chinese border, with Vientiane, the capital of Laos. These two projects, both largely financed by Chinese banks and being [End Page 118] built by Chinese companies, mark Beijing's efforts to...