Synergies of sustainable development goals between China and countries along the Belt and Road initiative

Abstract

Relevance structure of 102 targets in China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia based on SNA . • Apply 93 measurement indicators to evaluate the development trends of 17 SDGs in China and three neighboring countries along the Belt and Road. • Identify, correlate and match the key SDGs in these four countries through social network analysis and principal component analysis. • Explore future directions for collaboration and outline concrete roadmaps for sustainable development programs. In 2015, the United Nations passed ‘Reforming Our World: An Agenda on Sustainable Development by 2030’ which established 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to supervise global economic, social and environmental sustainable development programs. Soon afterwards, China published ‘A Proposal for Different Countries to Realize Sustainable Development Goals by 2030’ which stipulated detailed strategies. Simultaneously, China has carried out ‘the Belt and Road Initiative’ strategic planning since 2013. The proposal of SDGs provides a new opportunity of collaboration and win-win for China and countries along the Belt and Road. This paper, targeting China and its three neighboring countries along the Belt and Road, that is, India, Vietnam and Indonesia, will initially analyze the different situations of sustainable development of the four. Then, by referring to 93 measurement indicators, it evaluates the development trends of 17 SDGs between 1990 and 2015 in four countries (including 102 targets) so as to conduct a comparative analysis towards their circumstances of sustainable development in 2018 and to unravel the advantages and disadvantages of these countries. Furthermore, through social network analysis and principal component analysis to identify, correlate and match the key SDGs in these four countries, this paper intends to explore future directions for collaboration and outline concrete roadmaps for sustainable development programs. At last, it proposes a collaborative development agenda on joint realization of SDGs for China and countries along ‘the Belt and Road’.