A comparative study of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Marshall plan

Abstract

Since the introduction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, both the mainstream media and professional analysts began to name the Initiative "China's Marshall Plan". While the rhetoric may simply be an eye-catching term constructed in journalist and consultancy circles, this paper examines the background and purposes behind these two grand projects in order to shed light on the similarities and the differences of their effects on the world order. By comparing the projects under five different aspects-boosting exports, exporting currency, countering a rival, fostering strategic divisions, and siphoning away diplomatic support-this paper argues that while the two projects may have similarities and aim to respond to the malfunctioning world order through macro political-economic investments and developmental aid, their outcomes (given the relative differences of the global position of rivalries-USSR in Marshall Plan; US in BRI) and the changing economic structures, could be very different. As a result, this paper concludes that it may be too early to suggest that the BRI could bring similar outcomes as the Marshall Plan, especially in competing for the global leadership in the 21st century.

The tapestry of Chinese capital in the Global South

“…It will also create new opportunities for development COMMENT PALGRAVE COMMUNICATIONS | (2018) 4:65 | DOI: 10.1057/s41599-018-0123-7 | www.nature.com/palcomms in the long-neglected regions. From a different angle, Shen and Chan (2018) dispute the notion that China's OBOR project and the creation of new multilateral lending institutions facilitating the project is making China a new global hegemonic power like the US's postwar rise through its Marshal Plan. They point out that a number of conditions underlying the US rise through the Marshal Plan is not yet present in China's OBOR project.…”

The US dollar and its challenges: American hegemony in the 21st century

“…China's One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative has been compared to the Marshall Plan for the Eurasian region (Macquarie Research, , p. 1; Shen, ). Combined with the Maritime Silk Road, covering the Indian Ocean and connecting to the Middle East and North Africa, the initiative covers 65% of the world's population making it the largest economic project ever undertaken (Blanchard, & Flint, 2017, pp.…”

The Structure and Dynamic of Scientific Collaboration Network among Countries along the Belt and Road

“…In 2013, China launched the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, which were collectively known as the Belt and Road (B&R), or the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It is the single largest infrastructure project, which is referred to as "China's Marshall Plan" by mainstream media [1]. According to the official action plan, in 2015, the core geographic coverage of the BRI included 65 countries (China plus 64 countries), accounting for 62.3% of the world's population and a 30.0% share of the global GDP [2,3].…”