The purpose of this paper is to seek the organizing principle of China's Belt and Road Initiative in terms of the People's Republic of China's overall foreign policy objectives, and, in order to do this, an understanding of the leadership of the Mid¬dle Kingdom becomes imperative. There are five generations of Chinese leaders since the proclamation of the PRC and obviously each of them has had distinct attitudes when it comes to foreign policy and the decision making process, since their actions have been the outcome of specific historical, social and geopolitical conditions. Notwithstanding, we see a continuity of grand strategies and application of the same principles of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, inherited from one establishment by the other. The current leader Xi Jinping, soon after getting to be General Secretary of the Communist Party in late 2012, expressed what might turn into the hallmark of his administration: "The Chinese Dream – the great re¬juvenation of the Chinese nation." Some months later the New Silk Road Strategy was proclaimed; the proposed revival of a great trade route which, two thousand years ago, bridged Eastern and Western cultures across the Eurasian continent, becomes in the 21st century the fulcrum of the Belt and Road Initiative and the blueprint of the actual Chinese foreign policy. ; Publication is a part of the project: Regional Center for International Debate in Lodz 2017–2018 Project co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Belt and Road Initiative proclaimed by President Xi in 2013, a strategy developed by the Chinese government, is very important to China but is not confined to China. In order for the initiative to be successful it needs to be embraced by the countries on the terrestrial and maritime route indicated in the plan. In the late 1980s Deng Xiaoping proposed to integrate Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (Zhongguo Tese Shehui Zhuyi,中国特色社国主国) into global capitalism and in the 1990s the Jiang Zemin leadership initiated the Going out policy (Zouchuqu Zhanlue, 走出去国略) – the current Belt and Road Initiative is China's continuation in implementing those policies into actual deeds. China's accession to WTO in 2001 marked China's full integration into the global economy and since then the People's Republic of China (PRC) has become the largest trading partner for more than 180 countries. The Xi-Li administration has been extremely proactive since it was established in 2012; from that year on, Chinese behavior in international affairs has gained an ever-growing role as a forger of economic and diplomatic ties between countries. The primary example of this behavior is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). As every serious foreign policy plan, the BRI is an accumulation of various other initiatives. For example, the cooperation mechanism "16+1", with which the PRC has approached Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC), can be integrated under the BRI. This paper analizes the "16+1" China-CEEC cooperation mechanism in the context of the bigger BRI initiative, and tries to comprehend the economic and political factors intertwined with its implementation. ; The Belt and Road Initiative proclaimed by President Xi in 2013, a strategy developed by the Chinese government, is very important to China but is not confined to China. In order for the initiative to be successful it needs to be embraced by the countries on the terrestrial and maritime route indicated in the plan. In the late 1980s Deng Xiaoping proposed to integrate Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (Zhongguo Tese Shehui Zhuyi,中国特色社国主国) into global capitalism and in the 1990s the Jiang Zemin leadership initiated the Going out policy (Zouchuqu Zhanlue, 走出去国略) – the current Belt and Road Initiative is China's continuation in implementing those policies into actual deeds. China's accession to WTO in 2001 marked China's full integration into the global economy and since then the People's Republic of China (PRC) has become the largest trading partner for more than 180 countries. The Xi-Li administration has been extremely proactive since it was established in 2012; from that year on, Chinese behavior in international affairs has gained an ever-growing role as a forger of economic and diplomatic ties between countries. The primary example of this behavior is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). As every serious foreign policy plan, the BRI is an accumulation of various other initiatives. For example, the cooperation mechanism "16+1", with which the PRC has approached Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC), can be integrated under the BRI. This paper analizes the "16+1" China-CEEC cooperation mechanism in the context of the bigger BRI initiative, and tries to comprehend the economic and political factors intertwined with its implementation.
