The Belt and Road Initiative and International Relations

Author(s):  
John Joshua
2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-336
Author(s):  
Dusko Dimitrijevic ◽  
Nikola Jokanovic

The paper analyzes the process of institutionalization of intergovernmental cooperation and coordination of state policies through the mechanism of cooperation between the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEEC) and China, known in the public as ?16 + 1? (i.e., ?17 + 1? starting in 2019). Through an eclectic picture of the development of contemporary international relations, the authors indicate in a methodologically accessible manner that this mechanism of cooperation is a significant impetus for the development of international relations. Since China has taken a dominant role in redefining the Global Management System, whose goals are balanced and sustainable international development, to achieve them, China has identified certain ideological frameworks that are present in its foreign policy through the Belt and Road Initiative. Through this Initiative, China seeks to achieve the broader goals of the New Silk Road development strategy, which not only determines the directions of China?s internal development, but provides guidance for its strategic cooperation with neighbouring countries as well as with countries on other continents. Consequently, the mechanism itself thus plays an important role in strengthening China?s foreign policy position, not only with respect to CEEC, but also with respect to other European countries, including the EU as a whole.


2019 ◽  
Vol 01 (02) ◽  
pp. 1950006
Author(s):  
Ralph Pettman

International relations, as currently construed, are multi-dimensional. They are also Euro-American, which means modern-day China had no hand in making them. It was obliged to adapt to the state-centered, marketeering, nationalistic realities with which it was confronted when it became independent. And adapt it did. It also, however, revised these realities by adopting its own approach. Its leaders first repudiated China’s traditional experiences, while reworking its world ones to promote their own ends. Later, however, they began to express admiration for the values and vision of their own culture and civilization. They began to articulate policies, like the Belt and Road Initiative, that were not only representative of Euro-American principles, such as international cooperation and free trade, but also representative of non-Euro-American principles, such as the so-called “tribute system”. The latter characterized China’s foreign policy approach for millennia. It still arguably demonstrates China’s willingness not only to accept — while reforming — those Euro-American practices imposed upon it, but also to repudiate — by revolutionizing — those very same practices.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-171
Author(s):  
Xiangyi Li ◽  
Zhiting Wen

PurposeSince One Belt One Road (OBOR) was proposed, Singaporean sides have reacted differently. Based on the case of Zaobao, the authors develop the theoretical frame including international relations, agenda setting and media framing, analyzing the construction of textual materials on OBOR and its influencing factors.Design/methodology/approachIn this sense, this paper attempts to use Zaobao's texts on OBOR from 2015 to 2017 as textual materials, by using the discourse analysis method and combining the theories of international relations, agenda setting and media framing, to explore the following two relevant questions: How does the mainstream Chinese media of Singapore construct OBOR issue? What factors influence this kind of construction?FindingsThe study finds that agendas setting on OBOR are diversified in the purpose of supporting official position and meeting audiences' expectations, which are constrained by the factors such as international situations, regional strategies, national interests and domestic politics. The authors learn more details about hidden and vague thoughts on OBOR from all sides in Singapore through this discourse analysis.Originality/valueIn summary, the academic community has a certain foundation for the study of the cognition of the “Belt and Road” initiative. However, compared with the other countries' research on the Belt and Road cognition, the research on Singapore is insufficient. Singapore is an important hub for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. At the same time, as a leader of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), it has a strong appeal and influence in other ASEAN countries. It has also played a pivotal role in building the “Belt and Road”. However, the “Belt and Road” initiative has been proposed and implemented for five years. The research on Singapore's cognition and reaction of the “Belt and Road” initiative is still insufficient. Therefore, an in-depth study of Singapore's cognition of the ‘Belt and Road” initiative has significant academic and applied value. This paper attempts to explore the construction of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative by Singapore's official media to make up for the shortcomings of existing research.


Author(s):  
Karl Yan

China’s grand strategy is evolving towards greater activism under Xi Jinping – from ‘keeping a low profile’ to ‘striving for achievement’. New initiatives such as forging ‘a new type of international relations’, ‘a community with a shared future for mankind’, and the Belt and Road Initiative have become marked features of the ‘Xi-change’ in China’s grand strategy. From an economic statecraft perspective, this article hypothesises that the Xi-change led to a power centralisation in the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Railroad Economic Belt. To support its geopolitical and geoeconomic objectives, the Chinese state has replicated the domestic state-industrial complex. In the context of the Jakarta–Bandung High-speed Rail Corridor, the domestic roles of the National Development and Reform Commission and the China Railway Corporation have been internationalised to ensure the globalisation of China’s high-speed rail industry could be conducted in a concerted and choreographed fashion.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-103
Author(s):  
Maximilian Ohle ◽  
Richard J. Cook ◽  
Zhaoying Han

Grappling with the contemporary topos of a Sino-Russian Entente, Kazakhstan is caught between a delicate long-term peer-competition and potentially a structural rivalry involving the two Eurasian Leviathans, China and Russia. Acknowledging this perspective, Nur-Sultan is inducing hedging dynamics, fishing for a better range of net benefits, while playing a significant fulcrum role central to the regional geopolitical and geo-economic matrix. Although Russia is retaining the prevailing role in the security domain, China is catching up with Russia in various economic indices, notably generated by the Belt and Road Initiative. Utilizing the conceptualization of hierarchy in international relations adapted from the work of David A. Lake, this paper outlines how Nur-Sultan’s interests and preferences are acknowledged by the respective dominants, as a basis for social contracting processes to generate a dual hierarchical order in Central Asia.


2019 ◽  
pp. 47-71
Author(s):  
Petr M. Mozias

China’s Belt and Road Initiative could be treated ambiguously. On the one hand, it is intended to transform the newly acquired economic potential of that country into its higher status in the world. China invites a lot of nations to build up gigantic transit corridors by joint efforts, and doing so it applies productively its capital and technologies. International transactions in RMB are also being expanded. But, on the other hand, the Belt and Road Initiative is also a necessity for China to cope with some evident problems of its current stage of development, such as industrial overcapacity, overdependence on imports of raw materials from a narrow circle of countries, and a subordinate status in global value chains. For Russia participation in the Belt and Road Initiative may be fruitful, since the very character of that project provides us with a space to manoeuvre. By now, Russian exports to China consist primarily of fuels and other commodities. More active industrial policy is needed to correct this situation . A flexible framework of the Belt and Road Initiative is more suitable for this objective to be achieved, rather than traditional forms of regional integration, such as a free trade zone.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (06) ◽  
pp. 20475-20182
Author(s):  
Ige Ayokunle O ◽  
Akingbesote A.O

The Belt and Road initiative is an important attempt by China to sustain its economic growth, by exploring new forms of international economic cooperation with new partners. Even though the B&R project is not the first attempt at international cooperation, it is considered as the best as it is open in nature and does not exclude interested countries. This review raised and answered three questions of how the B&R project will affect Nigeria’s economy?  How will it affect the relationship between Nigeria and China? What could go wrong?, The review concluded that Nigeria can only benefit positively from the project.


Author(s):  
Adnan Khalaf i Hammed Al-Badrani ◽  
Hind Ziyad Nafeih

The Belt and Road Initiative is an initiative to revive the ancient Silk Road, through networks of land and sea roads, oil and gas pipelines, electric power lines, the Internet and airports, to create a model of regional and international cooperation.       It is essentially a long-term development strategy, launched by the Chinese president in 2013 to become the main engine of Chinese domestic policy and foreign diplomacy and within the framework of the soft power strategy, to enhance its position and influence in the world as a peaceful and responsible country.   The study includes identifying the initiative and setting goals for China, as well as the challenges and difficulties that hinder the initiative.


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