5/26/2023 0 Comments Belt of the long road![]() The initiative has been enshrined in the Chinese communist party’s constitution, which also eliminated term limits, leaving Xi room to continue Belt and Road for as long as he wants. Where does it end?īelt and Road is likely to continue, not least because these projects signal loyalty to Xi. Herbert Wiesner, general secretary of Germany’s PEN Center, says human rights are being “left in the ditches by the sides of the New Silk Road”. Others worry China will export its political model. “If it can carry goods, it can carry troops,” says Jonathan Hillman, director of the Reconnecting Asia project at CSIS. Analysts say almost all the ports and other transport infrastructure being built can be dual-use for commercial and military purposes. Last year, China established its first overseas military base in Djibouti. Some worry expanded Chinese commercial presence around the world will eventually lead to expanded military presence. “Rather than using their economic power to make friends, they’ve drummed up more fear that it will be about influence.”Īccording to Shan Wenhua, a professor at Jiaotong University in Xi’an, Xi’s signature foreign policy is “the first major attempt by the Chinese government to take a proactive approach toward international cooperation … to take responsibility.” “They’ve presented this very grand initiative which has frightened people,” says Golley. Jane Golley, an associate professor at Australian National University, describes it as an attempt to win friends and influence people. ![]() Why is the initiative sparking global concern?Īs Belt and Road expands in scope so do concerns it is a form of economic imperialism that gives China too much leverage over other countries, often those that are smaller and poorer. In these situations the leverage China has as lender is used for purposes unrelated to the original loan,” said Scott Morris, one of the authors of the Washington Centre for Global Development report. “There are some extreme cases where China lends into very high risk environments, and it would seem that the motivation is something different. In 2011, China wrote off an undisclosed debt owed by Tajikistan in exchange for 1,158 sq km (447 sq miles) of disputed territory. The affected nations – Djibouti, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, the Maldives, Mongolia, Montenegro, Pakistan and Tajikistan – are among the poorest in their respective regions and will owe more than half of all their foreign debt to China.Ĭritics worry China could use “debt-trap diplomacy” to extract strategic concessions – such as over territorial disputes in the South China Sea or silence on human rights violations. Belt and Road also means that Chinese firms are engaging in construction work across the globe on an unparalleled scale. According to one analysis, China has invested more than $210bn, the majority in Asia.īut China’s efforts abroad don’t stop there. The Belt and Road Initiative is expected to cost more than $1tn (£760bn), although there are differing estimates as to how much money has been spent to date. ![]() Countries from Panama to Madagascar, South Africa to New Zealand, have officially pledged support. Over the five years since President Xi Jinping announced his grand plan to connect Asia, Africa and Europe, the initiative has morphed into a broad catchphrase to describe almost all aspects of Chinese engagement abroad.īelt and Road, or yi dai yi lu, is a “21st century silk road,” confusingly made up of a “belt” of overland corridors and a maritime “road” of shipping lanes.įrom South-east Asia to Eastern Europe and Africa, Belt and Road includes 71 countries that account for half the world’s population and a quarter of global GDP.Įverything from a Trump-affiliated theme park in Indonesia to a jazz camp in Chongqing have been branded Belt and Road. Beijing’s multibillion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been called a Chinese Marshall Plan, a state-backed campaign for global dominance, a stimulus package for a slowing economy, and a massive marketing campaign for something that was already happening – Chinese investment around the world. ![]()
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