Suchergebnisse

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was launched at the end of 2015. It is an ongoing project towards a single market and is envisioned to develop ASEAN into a competitive and global ASEAN. However, given the wide development gaps between member countries, combined with ASEAN's extremely weak institutional base, it is uncertain whether ASEAN will be able to realise its ambitious targets. As the largest trading partner of ASEAN, China vowed to further deepen China–ASEAN relations and render more support to the building of the ASEAN community through China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). For ASEAN, the important question is how China and its initiatives could assist ASEAN member states in achieving those development priorities. This article attempts to address these questions by analysing Chinese scholarly writings and different Southeast Asian views and concerns. It also explores China's evolving peripheral diplomacy with a focus on its foreign policy to Southeast Asia. (China/GIGA)

This article discusses the role of Singapore in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its efforts to add value to and complement China's forays into the BRI region. Although Singapore does not have any major BRI-related infrastructure projects on its shores, it is an important regional financing hub and plays a pivotal role as a gateway to the Southeast Asia region, which is a key part of the Maritime Silk Road. Singapore possesses an outstanding business environment that enables it to facilitate investments into Southeast Asia, into which many BRI-related investments are flowing. (China/GIGA)

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been the subject of extensive analysis since late 2013. Most of this views it as a manifestation of China's approach to global issues under Xi Jinping, whether economic, geopolitical, or as a bid to reshape globalization. There has so far been less research into the domestic dynamics of the BRI, including at the sub-national level in China. Based primarily on an examination of provincial-level policy documents and research, this paper explores the ways in which policy makers in the southwestern province of Yunnan have responded to the BRI, and what this might mean for the implementation and shaping of the initiative. It identifies the promotion of externally-oriented development as the main response in Yunnan to the BRI, structured around the idea of making the province a 'pivot' to south and southeast Asia. This provincial-level response is shaped by pre-existing policy goals in Yunnan and reflects more continuity than change in policy substance. This is consistent with interpretations of the BRI as an 'omnibus' policy which can incorporate multiple objectives and act as a framework within which provincial actors can compete for influence or which they can use to make progress towards achieving local objectives in the context of national strategy. The paper concludes that in the case of Yunnan and the BRI, broad alignment between provincial and central government objectives suggests that on this issue, Yunnan is more of an 'influencer' and 'interpreter' than 'ignorer' of national policy goals. (Pac Rev/GIGA)

The grand "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI), comprising various routes by land and by sea, is a globally oriented outreach strategy intended to connect China with the world. Essentially, the BRI is about global outreach, connecting the world with China as the core hub. The initiative is known in Chinese as "Yi Dai Yi Lu" ("One Belt, One Road") but in practice, it encompasses multiple routes along the BRI, connecting various specific countries and regions, transportation modes and industrial sectors. China has the financial resources, the technology, the manpower, and most importantly, the political will and strategic vision to support infrastructure development in developing countries. Nevertheless, the BRI is currently at a crossroads. The tremendous enthusiasm for the promise of increased infrastructure connectivity and trade promotion under this initiative has begun to subside. Indeed, the implementation of the BRI has faced various practical issues and serious challenges. (China/GIGA)

With the revival of the historical trade routes across the Eurasia and along its coasts, Europe finds itself at the receiving end of a major Chinese foreign policy strategy. There is no doubt that the Chinese leadership and many observers believe that the Belt and Road Initiative would contribute significantly to economic growth and interaction across Eurasia. In Europe, the initiative has prompted a range of different reactions, from a strong embrace of the opportunities for increased mutual trade and investment on the one hand, to scepticism about the feasibility or political implications of the project on the other. This article will provide a survey of the debate witnessed in Europe to date. (China/GIGA)

Iran is one of the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). What effects will the realization of the BRI have on the geo economical and geopolitical status of Iran? On the one hand, this project can boost China's presence and influence in the political economy of Iran and its neighborhood, and create new domains of competition between Iran and China. On the other hand, it could contribute to the revival of Iran's historical role in the ancient Silk Road. Thus, to participate in this project, Iran is stuck between hope and fear. It is fearful for Iran because it has negative effects on Iranian interests, at the same time Iran is hopeful because it can enhance its economic development and raise its historical role as a bridge between the East and the West. As a result, Iran tries at the same time to develop its relationships with the EU as well as cooperation with China in the framework of the BRI. Iran tries to maximize its interests from the project and reduce its negative effects on its geo economic and geopolitical interests. Maintaining this fragile balance could face Iran 's active participation in the project with substantial challenges. (J Contemp China/GIGA)

It has been over six years since the idea of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was first publicised. While the importance of BRI has been widely recognised, its impacts are wide-ranging and controversial. This article, by first reviewing existing studies, is a preliminary effort to assess the BRI's effect on China's trade development. The authors' analysis indicates that, six years after the initiative's implementation, the changes in China's trade relations with countries along the Belt and Road are limited, compared to those with other countries. Data has also shown that there are huge variations across regions within the Belt and Road countries in their trade relations with China. More in-depth studies are needed to enhance our understanding of the BRI's overall impacts. (China/GIGA)

This study attempts to understand the pragmatic development of the belt and road initiative (BRI) in light of the Chinese government's stated claim that the BRI will be 'using key economic industrial parks as cooperation platforms'. Through the examination of three overseas economic and trade cooperation zones in the context of the BRI, this study engages with current Chinese language work on the BRI to argue that whilst at the regional level some initiatives may be workable and able to deliver given certain circumstances, in consideration of the goal of continuous expansion of the BRI, both the Chinese government's role and corporate awareness by Chinese investors is lacking and has undermined general policy goals. (Pac Rev/GIGA)

Within the Belt and Road Initiative literature, as well as in the media more broadly, geopolitical and geostrategic analyses have largely undervalued a role for domestic politics analyses. This article seeks to redress this deficiency, and supplements geopolitical analyses with a domestic politics perspective. It brings back the centrality of domestic politics. The domestic politics approach pays attention to the influence of personal leadership on the BRI and focuses on the political mobilisation and control mechanisms of the BRI, their impact and the various entanglements of international relations and domestic politics. (J Contemp China/GIGA)

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), since its inception in late 2013, has drawn tremendous global attention. The views of political leaders, business people, the media, and analysts on the prospect of the BRI are ostensibly polarized. One group asserts that the BRI will dramatically increase Beijing's global influence, particularly in China's neighborhood. Another group surmises that the BRI is expected to fail because of insurmountable challenges and is expected to fail. This article joins the debate by exploring the impact of the BRI on Southeast Asia's regional order. The author holds a middle-ground position and argues that the actual impact of the BRI should neither be easily dismissed nor overestimated. More likely, through the BRI, China's influence in Southeast Asia will increase but not to the extent of forging a Sinocentric order in the region. This can be explained by three major factors: (a) the responses of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its member states toward the BRI, (b) the effects of alternative infrastructure initiatives proposed by other major powers in Southeast Asia, and (c) China's questionable ability to deliver its BRI promises. (Pac Rev/GIGA)