Ancient routes, new dream: the Silk Roads and China's Belt and Road Initiative

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengqi Qian
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
The State ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
The World ◽  
Belt And Road

PurposeThe paper aims to contribute to the current research on China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from a historical point of view. The paper investigates why the history of the Silk Roads is important to the BRI, what is in the guiding thought underpinning China's Silk Roads narrative and how this narrative is presented transnationally, through an insightful analysis of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) view of the Silk Roads history, as well as its perception of the connections between the Silk Roads history and the BRI.Design/methodology/approachThe paper sits in the interface between history, heritage and state power. The argument is framed in concepts of historical constructionism and soft power. It is based on the discourse analysis of China's official narrative of Silk Roads and a case study of the planning for the World Heritage nomination of the Maritime Silk Routes (MSR) (China section). The case study is conducted through a qualitative analysis of academic publications, media reports and programs, official speeches and documents that are available to the public in hardcopy or on the Internet.FindingsThe paper reveals the relationship between the state-endorsed Silk Roads narrative and the BRI. The paper argues that the state-backed Silk Roads narrative as well as the planning for the World Heritage nomination of the MSR (China section) is guided by the Chinese Communist Party's perception of the BRI. In this respect, the Silk Roads-associated history, heritage and memory are shaped and deployed to serve as a convenient platform for the promotion of the BRI. The Party leaders' perception of the BRI is in large part about the revival of China's past glory, its national rejuvenation and the demonstration of China's soft power.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the existing literature on the BRI through its enquiries into how the CPC reconcile nationalist ambitions with notions of peace, harmony and cosmopolitanism and how CPC's view of the Silk Roads history shapes its vision of the BRI. The paper examines the role of the state in the construction and articulation of the Silk Roads-associated history, heritage and memory. It investigates how China's official interpretation of the Silk Road heritage serves China's BRI.

China’s Soft Power in Pakistan: The Representation of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor in Local Newspapers

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (04) ◽  
pp. 5-18
Author(s):  
Zahid Shahab AHMED ◽  
Ahsan HANIF ◽  
Baogang HE
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Local Newspapers ◽  
Newspaper Reporting ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Belt And Road

This article conducts a case study of China’s influence on Pakistan by collecting and analysing news coverage from two prominent English and Urdu newspapers in Pakistan for a five-year period between 2013 and 2018. It compares the changes in newspaper reporting before and after the launch of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in 2015. Analysis has shown a significant increase in positive reporting on the CPEC and China. The case of Pakistan is representative of its recognition of China’s soft power in a developing country, thus offering a new perspective on China’s goodwill vis-à-vis the Belt and Road Initiative.

scholarly journals Belt and Road Initiative: Interim Results and Challenges During Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 42-51
Author(s):  
N. Pyzhikov ◽  
E. Gushchin
Keyword(s):  
Selection Process ◽  
Foreign Debt ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
The World ◽  
Belt And Road

The article analyses the current status of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its key achievements and challenges, including those related to the COVID 19 pandemic. In the 2010s China has become one of world’s largest investors and BRI is one of the most important tools of Chinese investment policy. Due to its flexible structure, BRI has been able to adjust and develop in the context of the U.S. – China trade war and the growing anti-Chinese sentiment in the world that included the concerns over so called China’s debt diplomacy. But this lack of rigidity is also a challenge to those who study BRI because there is no official list of projects (estimations vary between 118 and 374) and countries participating in BRI (up to 138). China’s key BRI partner is Pakistan. The total value of projects implemented by China in Pakistan as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was initially estimated at $46 billion but now exceeds $70 billion (new projects were signed even during the pandemic). BRI is increasing the number of its participants. In March 2019 Italy became the first G7 country to sign a BRI MoU with China. While implementing BRI China has faced such challenges as rising concerns of “China’s debt trap”, as well as ecological and political issues. In 2020 BRI is facing a new challenge with the COVID-19 pandemic. Some BRI projects were postponed because of the pandemic, but in some cases they were unaffected. There are 64 out of 138 countries participating in BRI that come from low and lower-middle income groups according to the World Bank classification. Their average ratio of foreign debt to GDP was 54% in 2018–2019. It is most likely that these countries will be hit hard by the coronacrisis. Thus the pandemic will encourage China to tighten the selection process for BRI projects with a focus on the most strategically important and cost effective ones. From the point of view of China’s BRI partners, the effect can be two-fold: the most unstable economies will increase their dependence on China, while with the economically strong countries China will be more willing to make concessions and offer more favorable conditions for cooperation.

Managing the women managers: a case study of paper bag makers

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Anupma Srivastava ◽  
Amita Marwha
Keyword(s):  
Women Workers ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Informal Sector ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
Management Students

Subject area Human resource management. Study level/applicability It is appropriate for graduate students majoring in human resource or business management. Students who are interested in studying Asian economies in the world, as they are the most growing economies in the world and at the same time have a shocking number of people employed in the informal sector. Case overview This case study talks about women workers who face a glass ceiling at the management level and deplorable working conditions at the informal level. This case involves women in the paper bag-making business, a part of the urban informal sector. The paper bag-making business provides employment and income generation for the urban poor. The focus in this study is on women production workers, rather than entrepreneurs or professional managers. Focus of the study will be on the change in the pattern of income distribution within the family-based household, the degree of bargaining power derived from productive work and income and impact of technology on the plight of unskilled women force and how technology and vocational training can lead to utilization of manpower being wasted because of lack of synergy between technology and the informal sector in India. Expected learning outcomes Four key points of selection, training, assessment and leadership all have been addressed in this case study, and the relevance of these points is important from the point of view of management students who have to understand the linkages and the hidden costs these informal sector occupations come with and then to device an appropriate strategy to bring and use these human resources to their full capacity by utilizing the existing resources instead of adding new ones, which in development economics is known as Solow residual. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes.

Rethinking and revaluating UNESCO World Heritage Sites

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry Louis Stiefel
Keyword(s):  
World Heritage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
World Heritage Sites ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
Common Heritage ◽  
World Heritage List ◽  
The World ◽  
Outstanding Universal Value ◽  
The Usa

Purpose Having more than 1,000 sites on the World Heritage List raises questions regarding what world heritage means. The re-evaluation of heritage sites within the USA will be conducted as a case study, where similar issues of historical designation has taken place. Within recent decades there has emerged a policy of revisiting designations that occurred prior to 1990, when the nomination process was less rigorous. These re-evaluations do not necessarily remove the property from heritage designation, but the process has been valuable from a qualitative standpoint because a better understanding of significance has been achieved. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach Within recent decades there has emerged a policy of revisiting designations that occurred prior to 1990 in the USA, when the nomination process was less rigorous. Should a similar approach or policy be made to the properties placed on the World Heritage List during the first decades, since the expectations for demonstrating outstanding universal value have since increased? The result could be that we end up with a more robust World Heritage List that provides a better definition of what the common heritage of humanity is. Findings The way we approach and conceptualize World Heritage needs to evolve accordingly, considering how much it has evolved since the Convention in 1972. The experiences of re-evaluating historic places in the USA since the 1990s has much to offer. Research limitations/implications Only the perspective of the USA is given, as a case study. Contributions from practitioners in other countries experienced in heritage site re-evaluation best practices would be meaningful. Practical implications Re-evaluating World Heritage Sites is something to consider as a management prospect for places on or under consideration for the World Heritage List since it could bring a more comprehensive understanding of outstanding universal value. This type of re-evaluation may help in addressing the meaning of place(s), contextualization of multiple locations of common heritage, and the political elitism of the World Heritage List, where some countries are over represented due to sites listed through a less-experienced process from earlier decades. Social implications Revisiting the World Heritage List in respect to policy and the meaning of world heritage may be in order. For example, should every nation be entitled to list at least one property to the list regardless of its heritage value? Originality/value Since the 1970s, coinciding with the establishment of the World Heritage List through the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, the USA has dealt with dynamic and complex logistical problems regarding the recognition and interpretation of its cultural heritage.

scholarly journals Global perspectives on volunteerism

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 456-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Halsall ◽  
Ian Cook ◽  
Paresh Wankhade
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
The State ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Perspectives ◽  
Academic Texts ◽  
Role Of The State

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of volunteerism in three different case countries, namely, that of USA, UK and China while highlighting the role of the state, society and social capital. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the extant literature on the volunteering traditions in the chosen case study countries highlighting the idiosyncrasies while analysing implications for future research. Findings – The paper highlights the role of the state, society and social capital in the chosen countries, each deriving its origins from the specific traditions in those countries. Research limitations/implications – This paper provides a conceptual review focusing on the key literature in the field. The authors have examined various academic texts and published materials. Practical implications – This paper provided an update critically discussion on the concept of volunteerism in three different case countries. Social implications – This paper is highly relevant to academics and social policy makers. Moreover, this paper has been written from an international context. Originality/value – The paper makes an original contribution by comparing and contrasting three important countries with different histories and traditions of volunteerism highlighting diversity of type and application.

Suzhou industrial park and its role in the belt and road initiative: the great stone industrial park in Belarus

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
María José Haro Sly
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Industrial Park ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Belt And Road

PurposeIn recent years, the People's Republic of China has made remarkable progress in science and technology. The Chinese industry is competing for leadership in cutting-edge technologies such as 5G, robotics, artificial intelligence, aerospace and green energy. This article aims to analyze: What role do industrial parks, especially Suzhou Industrial Park, play in upgrading technology to encourage independent innovation and economic development? How SIP is related to the Belt and Road Initiative?Design/methodology/approachThis research summarizes China's most important scientific and technological reforms and policies and in particular the Torch Program. In addition, it develops a case study of the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) by analyzing documents, bibliography and presenting data. It ends with a case study of the role of SIP in the Belt and Road Initiative analyzing the Great Stone Park in Belarus.FindingsThis article highlights that: China's experience clearly shows that the "visible hand" of the State plays a very important role in economic development and technological catch-up. All of them are implemented from a strategy linking the national objectives with the local ones, this is done from a top-down perspective. As an important aspect of economic and social development, China's experience in promoting indigenous innovation in science and technology provides a relevant example for developing countries.Research limitations/implicationsThere are few academic literature on Great Stone Industrial Park.Practical implicationsThe international cooperation of the SIP with the technology parks throughout the BRI-countries provides relevant information to deepen collaboration in this field and could contribute to closing the technological gap in developing countries.Originality/valueThe role of the SIP in the Belt and Road initiative is an under research topic. There is few bibliography discussing the impacts of the cooperation in science and technology in the framework of the BRI.

scholarly journals “BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE”: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHINA AND FOR THE WORLD

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno De Conti ◽  
Petr Mozias
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
The World ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Direct And Indirect Impacts ◽  
Indirect Impacts ◽  
The Belt And Road

The “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) is quite impressive in the amount of resources and the number of countries involved, but also in the diversity of intentions it reveals. In one hand, it is a demonstration of strength for China in the international arena; in the other hand, it is an effort of the Chinese government to face important economic problems. Nevertheless, it may not be studied only from the point of view of China, since it has direct and indirect impacts over the whole globe. This paper aims therefore to analyze BRI under the framework of associated opportunities and challenges for China and for the rest of the world.

The Belt and Road Initiative: Goals and Challenges

2020 ◽  
pp. 167
Author(s):  
Adnan Khalaf i Hammed Al-Badrani ◽  
Hind Ziyad Nafeih
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Power Lines ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Ancient Silk Road ◽  
Main Engine ◽  
The Belt And Road

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.

De la gestión local a la gobernanza global: actores e interacciones multiniveles en la gestión del agua en la ciudad de México

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 34-66
Author(s):  
Joyce Valdovinos
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Service Contracts ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
The One

The provision of water services has traditionally been considered a responsibility of the state. During the late 1980s, the private sector emerged as a key actor in the provision of public services. Mexico City was no exception to this trend and public authorities awarded service contracts to four private consortia in 1993. Through consideration of this case study, two main questions arise: First, why do public authorities establish partnerships with the private sector? Second, what are the implications of these partnerships for water governance? This article focuses, on the one hand, on the conceptual debate of water as a public and/or private good, while identifying new trends and strategies carried out by private operators. On the other hand, it analyzes the role of the state and its relationships with other actors through a governance model characterized by partnerships and multilevel networks.Spanish La provisión del servicio del agua ha sido tradicionalmente considerada como una responsabilidad del Estado. A finales de la década de 1980, el sector privado emerge como un actor clave en el suministro de servicios públicos. La ciudad de México no escapa a esta tendencia y en 1993 las autoridades públicas firman contratos de servicios con cuatro consorcios privados. A través de este estudio de caso, dos preguntas son planteadas: ¿Por qué las autoridades públicas establecen partenariados con el sector privado? ¿Cuáles son las implicaciones de dichos partenariados en la gobernanza del agua? Este artículo aborda por una parte, el debate conceptual del agua como bien público y/o privado, identificando nuevas tendencias y estrategias de los operadores privados. Por otra parte, se analizan el rol y las relaciones del Estado con otros actores a través de un modelo de gobernanza, definido en términos de partenariados y redes multi-niveles.French Les services de l'eau ont été traditionnellement considérés comme une responsabilité de l'État. À la fin des années 1980, le secteur privé est apparu comme un acteur clé dans la fourniture de certains services publics. La ville de Mexico n'a pas échappé à cette tendance et en 1993, les autorités publiques ont signé des contrats de services avec quatre consortiums privés. À travers cette étude de cas, nous nous interrogerons sur deux aspects : pourquoi les autorités publiques établissentelles des partenariats avec le secteur privé ? Quelles sont les implications de ces partenariats sur la gouvernance de l'eau ? Cet article s'intéresse, d'une part, au débat conceptuel sur l'eau en tant que bien public et/ou privé, en identifiant les tendances nouvelles et les stratégies menées par les opérateurs privés. D'autre part y sont analysés le rôle de l'État et ses relations avec d'autres acteurs à travers un modèle de gouvernance, défini en termes de partenariats, et des réseaux multi-niveaux.

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