scholarly journals The Belt and Road turns five

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Baltensperger ◽  
Uri Dadush

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an international trade and development strategy. Launched in 2013, it is one of the ways that China asserts its role in world affairs and captures the opportunities of globalization. The BRI has the potential to enhance development prospects across the world and in China, but that potential might not be realized because the BRI’s objectives are too broad and ill-defined, and its execution is too often non-transparent, lacking in due diligence and uncoordinated. This article documents the background and context of the BRI, recounts what is known about the extent of the initiative and specifies its various motivations. It highlights that the initiative meets very large infrastructure investments gaps, which is welcome and needed, and that China’s goal of forging stronger links with its trading partners around the world are legitimate, so long, of course, as the underlying intent remains peaceful. Though many observers welcome the BRI, many others oppose it for good reasons, while others misunderstand it and oppose it for bad reasons. The paper identifies and discusses concerns about the initiative that relate to its geopolitical objectives, its priorities, its geographic scope, the role of state-owned enterprises, the allocation of resources, issues of transparency and of due diligence. Particularly, it shows that this initiative deals with a vast number of countries that are in very different states of development and that an apparent lack of well-defined priorities is holding the initiative back. The paper also highlights the issue of debt overload which is distressing several BRI countries and discourages further projects. It points briefly to possible improvements that China and the other stakeholders in the BRI can make to get the most out of their investments. The BRI, to be effective, needs to meet the basic conditions of a trade and development strategy, which are clear objectives, adequate resources, selectivity, a workable implementation plan, due diligence and clear communication. Involvement of multilateral lenders could help with this. Finally, China has to improve the evaluation of project’s risks and costs and step up its due diligence approach to demonstrate that it respects the long-term interests of those countries that are at the receiving end of its BRI projects.

Author(s):  
Paula Tomaszewska

Chinese Belt and Road initiative (BRI) is not only an economic or political project, but also has the potential to transform the international system. The initiative‘s impact is large – from stimulating the financing of infrastructure investments in various countries around the world to the development of new global supply chains. The scientific goal of the article is to analyze the consequences of implementing the initiative. The research problem is included in the following question: does the Belt and Road Initiative contribute to increasing Chinese influence in the world and carries the risk of driving poorer countries into the ―debt trap‖? The conclusion from the article is that China should create an improved version of the BRI initiative based on a better risk assessment of the current projects. Infrastructure investments, if not carefully implemented and controlled, may lead to consequences, such as increasing the debt of some countries in the long term.


2006 ◽  
pp. 4-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Abalkin

The article covers unified issues of the long-term strategy development, the role of science as well as democracy development in present-day Russia. The problems of budget proficit, the Stabilization Fund issues, implementation of the adopted national projects, an increasing role of regions in strengthening the integrity and prosperity of the country are analyzed. The author reveals that the protection of businessmen and citizens from the all-embracing power of bureaucrats is the crucial condition of democratization of the society. Global trends of the world development and expert functions of the Russian science are presented as well.


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.


1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-522
Author(s):  
Brady Coleman ◽  
Robert Beckman

AbstractIntegrated coastal management (ICM) programmes are being planned, formulated and implemented in coastal States all over the world. To date, however, ICM has been seen as more in the realm of policy-makers, managers, scientists, coastal resource economists, and others, rather than in the realm of lawyers. This article reveals how law and lawyers should play an absolutely essential role at all stages of the ICM process. Ideally, ICM legal consultants will have a broad range of knowledge and experience in both international legal treaties as well as in certain fundamental national law principles, so that coastal zone policies will be designed and carried out with a critical understanding of the laws and institutions needed for the long-term success of an integrated coastal management programme.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-39

Purpose The authors wrote their study in response to the pressures businesses face today to behave responsibly. More than 90% of the largest 250 MNCs in the world, they said, disclose information about various aspects of their CSR and sustainability. Meanwhile, HRD practices play a significant role in the design and effectiveness of these initiatives. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted an analysis of the contents of CR reports to detect themes. They used a list of the top 100 CSR companies in the 2016 Global CSR Rep Trak 100. Overall, 55 reports were included from 23 large MNCs in 17 industries and 10 countries across Europe, Asia and North America. Household names included BMW, Campbell Soup, Dell, FedEx, Nike, Visa, Sony, Honda, Samsung, LEGO, Air Canada, Hilton Worldwide, and Fujifilm. Findings Initial analysis showed that seven areas of HRD work were the most important in supporting CSR and sustainability agendas. They were (1) Diversity, equity and inclusion. (2) Community engagement. (3) Work-life balance. (4) Employee long-term growth and development. (5) Performance management. (6) Business ethics and ethical culture and (7) Raising CSR awareness. Originality/value The study addressed two fundamental questions: First, what is the role of HRD in CSR and sustainability as portrayed in CR reports? Second, what areas of HRD work are highlighted in CR reports as important in the context of CSR and sustainability?


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-72
Author(s):  
Koorosh Gharehbaghi ◽  
Bambang Trigunarsyah ◽  
Addil Balli

Due to Melbourne's ongoing growth, there is continuous pressure on its transportation infrastructure. Further, to maintain its position as one of the most livable cities in the world, Melbourne needs to always look at ways to optimize technology and lifestyle while being conscious of its effects on the environment in order to encourage a sustainable development agenda. Such a stance is part of Melbourne's future sustainable urban development strategy including ‘Melbourne 2017-2050.' As a part of such strategy, this article discusses the possibility of underground urban structures (UUS) to further alleviate Melbourne's continuous urban development problems. Four case studies, Lujiazui, Hongqiao, Montreal, and Helsinki, were studied. These four case studies have some comparability with Melbourne's CBD. Particularly, both Montreal and Helsinki have relevance to Melbourne which is appealing. Predominantly, these two cities' main objective of UUS matches that of Melbourne's long-term urban planning goals. Noticeably, improving the livability along with reducing building operational costs are central to Melbourne's 2017-2050 planning and beyond. According to Melbourne 2017-2050, as a sustainable urban development focus, the city's high livability needs to be maintained together with finding alternative ways to reducing building operational costs. This research would thus serve as a springboard to further investigate the UUS for Melbourne city.


2020 ◽  
pp. 73-77
Author(s):  
T.S. Sukhodaeva ◽  

The article discusses the features of the Arctic zone, its place in the world economy and international relations. The reasons for the intersection of the geopolitical interests of the leading states of the world in this region are revealed. The main directions of scientific and technical cooperation in the development of the Arctic are identified. The role of the Arctic Council in solving the problem of coordinating the interests of various actors in the region is shown. The strategic necessity of the development of the Arctic as a region free of conflicts and rivalry is substantiated. The analysis of the Russian Arctic policy and mechanisms for its implementation. The author substantiates the conclusion that the development of the Russian Arctic zone can become a driving force for the qualitative growth of the national economy, the formation of the country's competitive advantages in the long term, as well as maintaining the global ecological balance and stability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farideh Ordikhani ◽  
Venu Pothula ◽  
Rodrigo Sanchez-Tarjuelo ◽  
Stefan Jordan ◽  
Jordi Ochando

Current immunosuppressive therapy has led to excellent short-term survival rates in organ transplantation. However, long-term graft survival rates are suboptimal, and a vast number of allografts are gradually lost in the clinic. An increasing number of animal and clinical studies have demonstrated that monocytes and macrophages play a pivotal role in graft rejection, as these mononuclear phagocytic cells recognize alloantigens and trigger an inflammatory cascade that activate the adaptive immune response. Moreover, recent studies suggest that monocytes acquire a feature of memory recall response that is associated with a potent immune response. This form of memory is called “trained immunity,” and it is retained by mechanisms of epigenetic and metabolic changes in innate immune cells after exposure to particular ligands, which have a direct impact in allograft rejection. In this review article, we highlight the role of monocytes and macrophages in organ transplantation and summarize therapeutic approaches to promote tolerance through manipulation of monocytes and macrophages. These strategies may open new therapeutic opportunities to increase long-term transplant survival rates in the clinic.


Energy Policy ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 2296-2307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Vaillancourt ◽  
Maryse Labriet ◽  
Richard Loulou ◽  
Jean-Philippe Waaub

2013 ◽  
Vol 436 ◽  
pp. 571-577
Author(s):  
Mircea Boşcoianu ◽  
Elena Corina Boscoianu

The modern development of research and development (R&D) is critical for Romania, an emerging country with smart people, scientists and entrepreneurs, especially in the actual context after the global crisis. In order to gain the desired performance in fundamental and applied R&D it is necessary to change the actual vision and to understand the importance of long term processes and the role of flexibility and adaptability to the movement of global markets. A new strategy for research and development (R&D) in Romania is necessary in the actual context, because it is very difficult to obtain the critical mass of resources and the processes of tranformation are difficult in the case of Romania. This research is also important because R&D is based on public funds and public organizations are typical isolated, dominated by an organizational fragmentation and the low caopability to adopt the technological progress. ERP systems represents a paradigm capable to sustain the Romania R&D strategy also because they represent the central element of the future e-governance architecture. That is why in the case of Romanian R&D strategy the integration of ERP should be consider in a special framework.


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