TheauthorisaprofessorofworldstudieswiththeChineseAcademyofGovernanceTheinternationalcooperationbasedontheBeltandRoadInitiativehasmadegreatstridessinceitwasfirstconceivedfiveyearsago.
Theinitiative,whichaimstopromotecommondevelopment,haswonwiderecognitionfromtheinternationalcommunity.Todate,Chinahassignedcooperationdealswithmorethan100countriesandregionsaswellasinternationalorganizationstojointlyadvancetheBeltandRoadInitiative.ThecoreideasoftheinitiativehavealsobeenacceptedandwrittenintothefinaldocumentsofmanyimportantinternationalorganizationsandinstitutionsincludingtheUN,theG20,theAsia-PacificEconomicCooperationandtheShanghaiCooperationOrganization.
Alongwithitsbroadacknowledgmentintheworldarena,theinitiativeisalsobecomingkeytoChina鈥檚takingpartinglobalgovernanceandpromotingthebuildingofacommunitywithasharedfutureformankind.
Anewtypeofpublicgood
TraditionalglobalizationisoftenreferredtoasmodernizationdominatedbytheWestintheworldsystemstheory,butthetargetoftheBeltandRoadInitiativeistobuildaworldofcommonmodernization.TheworldsystemstheorywasfirstputforwardbyU.S.sociologistImmanuelWallerstein,whoconsideredintegrationandinequalitythetwomostimportantfeaturesinthecapitalistworldeconomicsys-tem.Inhistheory,globaldivisionoflaborandworldcommodityexchangerelationsarethetwomajorfactorsthatbindallmembersoftheinternationalcommunityfirmlyintoahugenetthatistheworldeconomy.However,integrationdoesnotautomaticallyleadtoequalization.
Theworldeconomyisstillahierarchicalstructureconsistingofthecore,semi-peripheryandperiphery.DevelopedcountriessuchastheUK,theUnitedStatesandJapanareatthecoreofthesystem.Somemoderatelydevelopedcountriesareonthesemi-peripheryofthesystemandalargenumberofdevelopingcountriesinAsia,AfricaandLatinAmerica,andevensomeEasternEuropeancountries,areonitsperiphery.Withtheirsuperiorposition,thosecountriesatthecorecantakeadvantageoftherestofthecountriesinbothproductionandexchange.
TheBeltandRoadInitiativestandsforanewtypeofglobalization.Withabasiclogicofdecentralization,itadvocatescommon,fairandinclusivedevelopment.Therefore,theinitiativeisessentiallyopposedtocolonialism,imperialismandhegemonism.Inthepastfiveyears,theconstructionofBeltandRoadprojectsdemonstratedanotice-ablefeature:mostprojectswerebuiltinperipheralorsemi-peripheralcountries,suchasthefiveCentralAsiancountriesandthe16CentralandEasternEuropeancountries.Manyofthesecountriesarelandlockednations,likeLaos,Ethiopia,theCzechRepublicandKazakhstan.Theyenjoyfewbenefitsfromglobalizationmostlyduetotheirgeographicalposition.TheBeltandRoadInitiative,whichpromotespolicycoordinationandfacilitatesconnectivity,unimpededtrade,financialintegrationandpeople-to-peoplebonds,canhelptransformtheselandlockednationsintoland-linkedcountries,makingthemindispensablenodesintheglobaliza-tiongrid,whichfullyembodiestheglobalgovernanceprinciplesofachievingsharedgrowththroughdiscussionandcollaboration.TheinitiativeisanexcellentexampleofpublicgoodsprovidedbyChinatopromoteworlddevelopment.XINHUAExpandingcooperation
TheconstructionsiteofabridgealongtheChina-LaosrailwayonMay2inVientiane,capitalofLaosSincethebeginningoftheyear,unsavorycommentsabouttheBeltandRoadInitiativehavebeenincreasing.IncontrasttofiveyearsagowhencriticsaccusedChinaofexportingexcesscapacityandcompetingwiththeUnitedStatesforgeopoliticalsupremacy,negativenarrativesnowfocusonallegedviolationofinternationalrulesanddebt-trapdiplomacybyChina.
Whilenoneoftheseaccusationsarewellgrounded,ChinaneedstoreadjustitsapproachasitcontinuestoadvancetheBeltandRoadInitiative.
ManyChinesecompaniesengageincapital-intensiveprojectsoverseassuchastheGwadarPort,theBangladesh-ChinaIndia-MyanmarEconomicCorridorandtheChina-BelarusIndustrialPark.Butinfrastructureconstructionisonlypartofthestory.ItisequallycrucialforChinatoinvestmoreinsectorssuchaseducation,medicalcareandagriculturesothattheBeltandRoadInitiativecanbenefitlocalpeopleinamoretangibleway.
Furthermore,itisunfairthatChina鈥檚performanceistoooftenjudgedbyonlyWesternresearchinstitutes.ChinaneedstoconductmorequantitativeresearchintotheBeltandRoadInitiativebasedonitsownindexes.Withinclusivenessservingasoneofitsmostessentialtraits,theinitiativeisopentodifferentopinions.Itisill-advisedeithertoexaggerateitsimportanceortorejectitsachievements.
Inadditiontoresearchandconsultation,itisimperativethatChinaofferpremiumfinancialservices.Forexample,inAfrica,insufficientfundshavelongbeenabottleneckconstrainingdevelopmentonthecontinent.Chinacanbeareliablepartnerasittakesalongview.China鈥檚investmentgoalsaretohelpAfricancountriespromoteindigenousindustriessothattheycansustaintheirdevelopment.Afterbuildingroads,portsandpowerplants,Chinesecompaniesshouldworktoenhancelocalproductioncapacity.Productscannotonlymeetdomesticdemandbutcanalsobeexportedtoearnforeignexchange.Institutionsthatfinancethisdevelopmentshouldberesults-orientedandtransparent.
XINHUAThearrivalceremonyofthefirstVolvoblocktrain,whichcarried123brandnewVolvocarsmadeinnortheastChina,attheZeebruggePortinBelgium,onJune30,2017
Focusedonthefuture
AtasymposiummarkingthefifthanniversaryoftheBeltandRoadInitiativeonAugust27,PresidentXiJinpingcalledforeffortstopushforprogressinprojectsthatdeliverrealbenefitstolocalpeople,andtokeepexpandingthemarketwhilemaintainingtradebalance.
Headvocatedapolicysystemoffinancialsupportfortheinitiativeandencouragednon-governmentalfundsourcestoinvestininfrastructureandresourcedevelopmentprojectsinBeltandRoadcountries.
XipointedoutthatjointlypursuingtheBeltandRoadInitiativewasnotonlyaimedateconomiccooperation,butalsoanimportantpathwaytoimproveglobaldevelopmentpatternsandglobalgovernanceandtopromotethehealthydevelopmentofeconomicglobalization.
Indeed,theBeltandRoadInitiativeisintendedtoprovidebadlyneededsupporttocountriesalongandbeyondtheancientSilkRoadroutes.China,adevelopingnationthatsufferedfrombackwardnessanddirepovertyinthepast,fullyunderstandstheconcernsofitspartners.Itwillneverattempttosubordinateothers,butwillalwaysseekwin-winoutcomes,avaluethatisintheDNAoftheChinesepeople.
CopyeditedbyRebecaToledo
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