The Determinants of States' Interactions with China in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Spatial Gravity Interaction

Abstract

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a far‐reaching initiative of China's active engagement in global affairs and is seen to determine the future fate of Eurasia. Previous studies about states' interactions with China in the BRI either give suggestions on further actions or selectively depict how participants interact with China in a non‐comparative way. With the BRI event data collected that covers multiple modes of BRI interactions, this paper takes the initiative to explore the determinants of states' interactions with China in the BRI. With the spatial gravity model, this paper finds that economic size, market quality, geographic proximity, and political and economic amity are closely associated with states' interactions with China in the BRI, which further contributes to the broad literature of the application of the gravity model as well as the interaction of states with China under the new era of China's more active, confidential, and assertive foreign policy.