Looking at China’s Belt and Road Initiative from the Central Asian Perspective

Abstract

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a potentially transformational geopolitical development initiative, launched by China, which encompasses 65 countries, accounting for roughly 32 percent of global GDP, 39 percent of global merchandize trade, and 63 percent of the world's population. The BRI, also referred to as the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and the twenty-first century Maritime Silk Road (MSR), is a geopolitical initiative put forth by Chinese President Xi Jinping, which goes well beyond building infrastructure along the ancient "silk road." The initiative seeks to develop a wide network of connectivity and cooperation spanning the entire Eurasian land mass and parts of Africa, including Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North and East Africa. The magnitude of investments anticipated under the BRI is massive. According to the Chinese government, US$890 billion worth of investments have already been disbursed under the BRI umbrella, with an expected total Chinese investment of US$4 trillion over the course of the initiative. Developments suggest that BRI could ultimately evolve beyond a mere Chinese-financed initiative. However, the bulk of BRIrelated investments still appear to be conceived, driven, and primarily financed by China and financial institutions controlled by Beijing. This could change, however, as national governments that host BRI projects, multilateral institutions, and private sector gets more actively involved.

A Review of China-India Geopolitical Relations in the Context of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

“…But India has totally failed to provide any such kind of development project in the region for economic growth and prosperity. Apart from South Asian nations, the Southeast Asia countries and Central Asia countries have shown their keen interest for becoming the integral part of BRI [10,9]. In addition, despite the US, EU and Japan expressing their worries on BRI that it might not follow transparency, responsibility, accountability, public procurement, environmental ethics, mutuality in trade and investment and other issues, they did not hesitate to send their representatives to the BRI Summit (May 2017).…”

Vietnam’s Connectivity and Embeddedness in the Maritime Silk Road and Global Maritime Network

“…The BRI encompasses 65 countries, accounting for approximately 32 percent of global GDP, 39 percent of global merchandize trade, and 63 percent of the world's population. The initiative seeks to develop a wide network of connectivity and cooperation spanning the entire Eurasian land mass and parts of Africa, including Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North and East Africa [24]. The BRI proposes to improve the transportation infrastructure to give rise to closer and larger economic, social, cultural, and political ties.…”

Relations Between China and Mongolia: Cultural and Educational Dimensions

“…These two large-scale projects became the basis of the "the Belt and Road" initiative ( 一 带 一路). This initiative covers 65 countries, which account for about 32% of world GDP, 39% of world merchandise trade and 63% of the world's population [10].…”