scholarly journals Lao People's Democratic Republic's Dependency on China's Infrastructure Assistance

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-31
Author(s):  
Sigit Candrawiranatakusuma ◽  
Jefferson Winata Bachtiar
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Lao Pdr ◽  
The Other ◽  
Foreign Investor ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
The Past ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Common Destiny ◽  
Indochina War ◽  
The Belt And Road

Despite an acrimonious history, being involved in the second and third Indochina War, in the past few years, Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) seems to have deepened its relations with China. The improvement of friendly bilateral ties between Beijing and Vientiane can be observed by the evidence of China as the largest foreign investor in the country. On one hand, Lao PDR’s struggle to improve its economic its landlocked geography and the need for infrastructure assistance naturally makes the country lean more towards China. On the other hand, Beijing needs Lao PDR’s geographical advantages to complete the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project. The objective of this paper is to analyze the evolving relationship between China and Lao PDR within the context of the BRI. This paper concludes that both parties have developed a complex interdependent relationship with China attempting to establish a solid geo-economics system while trying to assert its position in a structural power system. The act of assertion is supported by its foreign policy that is predicted to be utilized to cajole Southeast Asia countries to be part of a community of common destiny under the leadership of Beijing.

GMS Economic Corridors Under the Belt and Road Initiative

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-206
Author(s):  
Masami Ishida
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Yunnan Province ◽  
Lao Pdr ◽  
The Other ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Belt And Road

The government of China promotes the development of expressways and high-speed expressways in Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and tries to connect the major cities of the subregion and Kunming under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). First, this article reviews the development schemes in the subregion including GMS economic cooperation and the BRI. Next, it introduces the development of the transport infrastructure, including expressways and high-speed railways, connecting Kunming and Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam. Thereafter, it compares the total costs of the projects and how other GMS countries negotiate with China. Seeing the sections of the expressways and railways in Yunnan Province, the shares of some sections occupied by bridges and tunnels are higher than 20 per cent due to the mountainous land feature of Yunnan Province. On the other hand, the railway in Lao PDR passes through the mountainous areas, and they adopted higher specification as same as in Yunnan Province. Consequently, the debt-default risk of Lao PDR has increased. On the other hand, Thailand repeated tough negotiations with China and made efforts not to increase the total cost. The negotiations of Lao PDR and Thailand with China are illustrated in this article. JEL Codes: O18, R10, R41, R58

scholarly journals Heilongjiang Province’s Engagement in BRI

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-21
Author(s):  
S. Linlin
Keyword(s):  
Financial Integration ◽  
Northeast Asia ◽  
Policy Coordination ◽  
Heilongjiang Province ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Past ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Geographical Position ◽  
The Belt And Road

As one of the nine border provinces in the country, Heilongjiang Province has 2,981 kilometres of RussianRussian border and 25 national first-class ports. In the past five years, Heilongjiang Province, based on the prominent geographical position in the core of Northeast Asia, has actively promoted the national strategy of the Belt and Road Initiative, deepened on open cooperation with countries in the Northeast Asia, and focused on developing economic cooperation and trade with Russia while building a new pattern of openness to the outside world. This paper in detail elaborates the progress of Heilongjiang Province’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in aspect of “five links” construction, namely, policy coordination, connectivity of infrastructure, unimpeded trade, financial integration and closer people-to-people ties, since the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, and further proposes feasible countermeasures.

scholarly journals Dal dibattito accademico al progetto geopolitico Le Nuove Vie della Seta fra potere marittimo e potere continentale

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Dossi
Keyword(s):  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Dual Nature ◽  
International Space ◽  
The Past ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Theoretical Issues ◽  
The Belt And Road ◽  
Academic Debate

The Belt and Road Initiative is closely related to an academic debate that took place in China during the past decade. Its topic was the relative importance of land and sea for the future of international politics, as well as its implications for China’s rise: should Beijing focus on the Asia-Pacific maritime domain or on the Eurasian landmass? In response to the academic debate, the Belt and Road Initiative was conceived as a geopolitical project that places China at the centre of the international space by leveraging on its dual nature as both a continental and a maritime power. Still, the fate of the Belt and Road Initiative hinges on finding a solution to some theoretical issues that the academic debate left unresolved.

Report on the Policy Coordination Index for the Belt and Road Initiative (2018)

2019 ◽  
Vol 02 (03) ◽  
pp. 1950018
Author(s):  
Yiyuan Chen ◽  
Yaping Wu
Keyword(s):  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Policy Coordination ◽  
The Other ◽  
Average Score ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Mutual Trust ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Belt And Road

The Five Connectivities Index (FCI) is a comprehensive index system designed to quantify the level and progress of connectivity in countries through China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The first connectivity of the five measured is policy coordination, and it is the foundation for the other four. It measures the degree of policy coordination between China and the other countries (94 in 2017) that are participating in the BRI. The average score for the policy coordination of BRI countries was 10.96 in 2018 (for 2017), ranking good coordination, which is consistent with the good level overall of the FCI, which shows that policy coordination between China and the other countries in the BRI was generally good in 2017. The 2018 results show that policy coordination of the 94 countries with China was generally stable, with a few changes. The scores of the countries that work closely with the Chinese Government within the framework of BRI have improved markedly, and the countries that are more passive have lower scores. This paper, interpreting these results, investigates the reasons and specific events that have led to positive and negative effects on policy coordination between China and other BRI countries. In addition, the Pearson correlation measurement for the results of the FCI shows that bilateral political mutual trust is significantly correlated with cooperation results. This indicates that bilateral political mutual trust is the key for ensuring that the BRI is fruitful and stable and has far-reaching effects.

From Cautious Interaction to Mature Influence: China's Evolving Engagement with the International Investment Regime

2020 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-88
Author(s):  
Wendy Leutert ◽  
Zachary Haver
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Investment ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Bilateral Investment Treaties ◽  
The Past ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
State Behaviour ◽  
The Belt And Road ◽  
Over Time

As the Belt and Road Initiative expands the global footprint of Chinese firms, Beijing increasingly relies on international law to protect investments overseas. How and why has China's engagement with the international investment regime evolved over the past four decades? This article addresses these questions by examining the central component of the international investment regime: bilateral investment treaties (BITs). Through analyzing China's BIT practice and the security exceptions in 1,173 BITs concluded by both China as well as its treaty partners, this article provides evidence of changing Chinese engagement, from cautious interaction (1978–1991) to active participation (1992–1997), committed implementation (1998–2012), and mature influence (2013–present). As Beijing accepted, applied, and shaped the rules and norms of the BIT system, China's treaty practice co-evolved with the international investment regime. A co-evolutionary approach illuminates why—and how—state behaviour and international orders change over time.

A Common Destiny: COVID-19 and the Ongoing Impact on China’s Belt and Road Initiative Among ASEAN Countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 2150001
Author(s):  
Chow Man-kong ◽  
Hung Wing-lok ◽  
Chang Chak-yan
Keyword(s):  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Regional Economic ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Asean Countries ◽  
Common Destiny ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Business Sectors ◽  
Interpretative Model ◽  
The Belt And Road

This paper seeks to apply China’s vision of a “common destiny” to an analysis of the relationship between China and ASEAN countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. It first discusses how the Sino-ASEAN relationship has been affected by the crisis, especially in fundamental business sectors. The second part explains how China has responded to global and regional economic challenges to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects. This paper advocates that an interpretative model of a common destiny should be considered when assessing the ongoing viability of the Belt and Road Initiative and in answering its critics.

China Economic Relations with Mauritania in the Age of the Belt and Road Initiative

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-86
Author(s):  
Mordechai Chaziza
Keyword(s):  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Main Argument ◽  
Islamic Republic ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
The Past ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Western Hegemony ◽  
The Belt And Road

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania have maintained steady bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1965. This study examines China’s economic relations with the Islamic Republic of Mauritania in the Belt and Road Initiative era. Over the past years, the PRC has been increasing its presence and engagement with Mauritania’s economy and presenting itself as a reliable financial and investor partner. The main argument is that the PRC’s relationship with Mauritania is based on shared or mutual commercial interests, especially Mauritania’s economic development, industrialization, and social development through integration in the BRI framework. China has collaborated with Mauritania both bilaterally and multilaterally, mainly through the BRI framework, and is also expanding its political power and influence in the country at the expense of Western hegemony.

scholarly journals The Belt and Road Initiative and Global Governance in Transition

2017 ◽  
Vol 03 (02) ◽  
pp. 175-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhang Chun
Keyword(s):  
Public Goods ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Ethical Standards ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Global Public Goods ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Common Destiny ◽  
The Belt And Road

As protectionism and isolationism rise against globalization, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) provides strong momentum for advancing the transformation of global governance. First, the BRI strengthens the awareness of building a community of common destiny for mankind and promotes the evolution of epistemology in global governance. Second, it offers more sustainable global public goods, thus improving ethical standards for global governance. Third, the BRI combines the top-down and bottom-up approaches to encourage voluntary actions in global governance. Fourth, the BRI draws on China’s own experience in integrating reform, development and stability, which helps balance the economic, social, ecological, and security dimensions of global governance, so as to foster common development among countries and regions along the routes and ultimately create a new equilibrium between South-South and North-South cooperation. Promoted through consultation to meet the interests of all, the BRI will make both tangible and intangible contributions to the transition of global governance by delivering public goods and enhancing the notion of compatible justice in a deglobalized world.

China's space programme will rebound from setbacks

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
The West ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Past ◽  
Space Industry ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
New Space ◽  
The Belt And Road

Significance China's ambitious space programme suffered a setback last month when the newest and most powerful addition to the Long March rocket family, the Long March-5, was destroyed by a malfunction shortly after a launch. This was the third and most serious Long March failure over the past year. Impacts The consistency of political commitment to China's space programme will not waver. China's space industry will integrate itself into the Belt and Road Initiative. China is unlikely to allow its space industry the autonomy and freewheeling entrepreneurialism that characterises 'New Space' in the West.

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