one belt one road problems
May 10th, 2019 Posted by Duke University. Although the BRI’s EU and US critics have largely sidestepped its ties to the Xinjiang Crisis, it would be wrong to say that China’s international critics are silent on its human rights violations. Yet, Chinese experts and policymakers alike have spoken about the potential of the BRI to drive agricultural “going-out” and help realize China’s - and the world’s - food security through improved yields and import diversification. Third, India-Pakistan relations made India worried. 21 maps for the 21st century in the new economic and geopolitical world order, Pallas Athene Innovation and Geopolitical Foundation, Central and Eastern European Geopolitical Study, Womenomics – Women at the Japanese labour market, Move Europe East: Seizing an Opportunity to Make Central and Eastern Europe’s Economic and Political Wealth Equal or Surpass that of Western Europe, The 2019 Indian general election and its effects on foreign policy, Chinese soft power in the developing countries: Africa, The Integration of the Pearl River Delta: The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. The conflict has escalated since 2014, when the central government launched a “people’s war on terror”, setting in motion an ongoing mass surveillance and forced detention campaign against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Yet, Washington has claimed the initiative’s projects are “debt traps” for Belt and Road (B&R) countries. To understand Xi’s One Belt One Road, we must place it in the context of China’s contemporary domestic politics, historical identity and international public relations efforts. Author: Jinqing Cao Chief Expert of Social work and social policy institute of ECUST (East China University Of Science and Technology), Your email address will not be published. It has also been a fact that the developing countries need infrastructure construction, so do some developed countries. Pallas Athene Geopolitical Research Institute was set up in the spring of 2015 with the aim of establishing the research bases of geopolitics as a discipline in Hungary. Xinjiang’s centrality to the BRI has led experts to reevaluate Xi’s incentives for carrying out the repressive campaign: it is clear that, alongside his administration’s established desire for ethnic and cultural homogeneity, his government anticipates an economic windfall from sustaining social control in Xinjiang. The continual building of One Belt One Road is significantly increasing the economic transactions among dif… And some laud China for funding infrastructure projects in African countries at all. This implied China at that time had extreme self-confidence, and showed no interest to enlarge the influence of its culture. While a question should be posed on why it could not surpass China as an authoritarian country (in the western discourse). Of the many faces of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), agriculture is one of the least discussed by international news outlets. Being aware of the increasing potential in the East Asian region, PAGEO Research Institute focuses on six East Asian countries: China + Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, India, Singapore and Indonesia. The more international attention the Xinjiang conflict garners, the clearer Xi's agenda becomes to stamp out the possibility of Uyghur dissent to the cultural erasure and environmental destruction that the BRI will bring. One indisputable fact is that China’s biggest importing needs are energy and mineral resources. One belt refers to what was historically called the Silk Road, stretching from China through Central Asia. And soon after his election, he announced his support for perhaps the world’s largest economic project, the One Belt, One Road Initiative (BRI). Pallas Athéné Innovációs és Geopolitikai Alapítvány. China’s recent move to offer subsidized loans and other benefits to “high quality” BRI projects halted by COVID-19 has only added urgency to these fears, hastening precisely the sort of opaque and bilateral lending agreements thought to “conflict with US interests.”. In the seven years since China’s President Xi Jinping announced the Belt and Road Initiative, the project has expanded to nearly every corner of the world. From 2002 to 2008, the accumulated employment problems in China were resolved immediately, and the labor force was in short supply between 2003 and 2005. Censure of state violence in Xinjiang remains vague, entrenched in a rhetoric of human rights that avows a commitment to “fundamental freedoms” and “liberties” ill-supported by nominal sanctions. There is indeed a sense of zero-sum game, while win-win situation and mutual benefit might be hard to achieve. Then, when it comes to the extra cultural meaning on the initiative, it could be added on massively. Against these rogue donor narratives, the reality of the BRI crediting policy seems benign, even generous. Issue framing studies suggest that individuals are equally likely to take action when presented with motivational frames alone—such as personal narratives of human suffering—or in combination with informational frames, like economic or statistical analysis. One set of risks stems from the complicated political situation prevailing across large stretches of overland and maritime covered by One Belt, One Road. Later, in spite of the high domestic pressure, China joined WTO, which promoted the economic development greatly. As a result, from 2001 to 2003, the US focused on the warfare in the Middle East. Designed & built by Euirim Choi '19. The One Belt, One Road Initiative. It is a great question for the academic community to initiate further study on, that among the meanings added on ‘One Belt, One Road’ which ones are reliable, which ones are conceptual, and which ones are original, which ones were gradually attached one. Thus, after George W. Bush stepped down in 2008, the Obama administration embarked on the general strategic planning to settle with the Middle East as soon as possible, and to prepare to get back to Asia-Pacific. Bangladesh, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Sierra Leone have all subsequently decided to cancel or downsize some of their Belt and Road projects … China has been accused of predatory lending before, most notably to Sri Lanka and Djibouti, and the BRI has reanimated these narratives with vigor. © 2021 The Gate. China forgave $9.8 billion in foreign debt between 2000-2018, including on keystone BRI projects like the Addis-Djibouti railway in Ethiopia. Considering the fact that both the strength in building bridges, roads and tunnels and the whole capability in mechanical facilities had already ranked the first in the world, China has the confidence to face the whole world. So, how many actual benefits the‘One Belt, One Road’initiative could bring to the industrialization and urbanization of the countries along the route is an issue worth analyzing. After all, democratic countries tend to prefer exporting their ideologies through social services and democracy-promotion to building bridges—World Bank financing for foreign infrastructure has shrunk by more than half since its founding in 1944—and no Western country has proposed building “hard” infrastructure in Africa at the continental scale, though such an undertaking would almost certainly benefit the host country. But both the European Union and the United States were slow to speak up, and—although certainly a triumph for advocacy groups—The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act is more a call for congressional accountability in reporting the crisis than an international rallying cry. Like a one-way mirror, the Paris Club framework gives China a clear view of member states’ lending activity even as China’s remains concealed. “A common suspicion is that China uses this opacity to strike bilateral deals with debtor governments that are at its mercy,” writes Anders Åslund, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. But the United States and European Union seldom connect the two. China’s 30 years of development could be a golden chance by accident, as in 1978, Deng Xiaoping, Madame Thatcher in the UK, and Ronald Wilson Reagan in the US all took on actions on globalization, which docked with China’s reform and opening up inadvertently. China’s One Belt, One Road plan carries environmental risks. Chinese people need governments’ facility and financing supporting to promote its culture and social organizations, since missionary spirit is missing in Chinese culture. One Road refers to a “maritime road” … Xi Jinping was elected President by the National People’s Congress in 2013. Therefore, the ‘One Belt, One Road’ strategy would take the differences based on region diversity into account, resulting in China holding talks with the host separately. ‘One road’ is launched after ‘one belt’, but if the ‘one road’ was stuck, what could be done next? Because the relationship between China and India is very subtle, the reason lies in the following four aspects: First, China has border dispute with India. Likewise, while it is likely that Biden will sustain existing pressure on China in response to bipartisan concern, it remains uncertain whether his administration will deliver the substance that many experts, activists, and policymakers are demanding, like countering China at the United Nations or funding Uyghur support groups directly. As a general concept, conflict of laws also includes the contradictions between laws. Since China had unexpected development after joining the WTO, especially in GDP, finance, employment. Likewise, others have stressed that the risks of debt-trapping are just that: risks. The earliest move of adding on is related to domestic industrial structure adjustment and energy security. India hoped that China could meet their demands in Kashmir, which would also be impossible. Required fields are marked *. The Khorgos Gateway was once touted as one of the most ambitious projects in the Belt and Road Initiative, but it has come to represent the limits of … Meanwhile, the sovereignty and cultural issue in Kashmir is complicated, with the lower social group had Islam as the religion while the upper class believes in Hinduism. The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, also known as The Belt and Road (abbreviated B&R), One Belt, One Road (abbreviated OBOR) or the Belt and Road Initiative is a development strategy and framework, proposed by Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping that focuses on connectivity and cooperation among countries primarily between the People's Republic of China and … Untethered to the Club’s lending conditions, China has stirred unease in many member states. One Belt One Road and One Problem. Some of our other studies and abstracts promote the work of the Central Bank of Hungary and professional working groups related to the Hungarian Government. It problematizes what Belt and Road imagines—limitless globalization arrived at through a quixotic revival of the Silk Road, all couched in a defiantly nebulous agenda—but it does so narrowly, adhering to strictly economic terms of analysis. The African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy described debt-trapping as “a burden for our countries,” while the Malaysian prime minister has said he is wary of the slippery slope the BRI poses toward “a new version of colonialism.”. When China needs to communicate with these Islamic countries, it needs to be cautious in knowing about Koran and Hadith of Islam and using them as a thread of communication. The 'One Belt, One Road' strategy risks exacerbating China's economic imbalances. / As Xinjiang’s detention network swiftly fans out, the region is gaining attention as a critical vertex in the BRI’s lattice of trade routes. Jan. 25, 2021, 5:28 p.m. The end state of One Belt One Road is the building of a “Community of Common Destiny for Mankind” (人类命运共同体), defined as a new global system of alternative economic, political, and security “interdependencies” with China at the center (zhongguo, 中国). Were legislators to foreground the intertwined fates of Xinjiang’s oppressed minorities and the BRI, however, efforts to restrain each could gain momentum. It is less concrete policy and more ambition that appears the BRI’s lifeblood: currently, the initiative is projected to require over $1 trillion in infrastructure, power, and telecommunication investments. The Belt and Road Initiative is their chance to deliver on those promises. This was the hardest question for India to answer. Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and South Korea are among the Club’s twenty-two permanent members. Experts estimate that at least one million people have been incarcerated in more than 380 “re-education through labor” detention camps, sixty-one of which have been renovated in the last year and fourteen of which are still under construction. It aimed at establishing a discourse system of ‘Mutual discussion, construction and sharing’. Writer The United Nations demands “decisive measures”; Biden is advised to impose tangible costs on China for its human rights violations. At best, narrowly regarding the BRI as a framework for unsustainable financing puts a one-dimensional spin on a project that traverses land, sea, and space. One Belt, One Road, Multiple Challenges. ‘One Belt One Road’ (hereafter OBOR) is an outcome of this significant attempt invented and initiated by China in 2013. For doing this, China should make effort in cultivating talents to make significant contribution to the communication while with recognition on its difficulty. It is Necessary to Carefully Analyze the Pros and Cons to Host Countries’ Industrialization During the … Development Zones had been constructed in China, which transferred hundreds of millions of labor storage in the rural areas to factories. Many countries along the ‘One Belt, One Road’ route are Islamic countries, these countries are withstanding a series issues of marketization, industrialization, urbanization, as well as the oppression from the West, which led to their greater difficulties in transition than China. Many Americans fear that the Belt and Road Initiative is an extension of efforts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to undermine the security and economic architecture of the … Given its massive scope and budget, it is no wonder that the BRI has raised the alarms of predatory lending on the world stage, yet there is no record of asset seizure on any BRI project to date. Since the beginning, our researchers have published nearly 600 articles and studies. First, a consensus has been reached at the governmental level with a large number of countries. One Belt, One Road, Many Problems. This could be a very complicated issue, since when there is no industrialization, there is no urbanization. Indeed, whether China was a predatory lender to even Sri Lanka or Djibouti—typically regarded as poster children of the Chinese debt-trap—remains up for debate. One Belt, One Road, One Problem By Writer / Jan. 25, 2021, 5:28 p.m. For one, many of the developing countries along the Belt and Road are politically volatile and economically vulnerable. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window). In the recent one or two years, the extra value added to ‘One Belt, One Road’ is getting increasingly profound, in aspects including the academic research, politics, and business. But, at worst, having tunnel vision for the predatory economics of the BRI is to overlook the bleak future it augurs for the ethnic minorities already at China’s margins. As I see it, B&R projects seek to promote more inclusive global development. In the seven years since China’s President Xi Jinping announced the Belt and Road Initiative, the project has expanded to nearly every corner of the world. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), also known as One Belt, One Road (OBOR), is China‟s highly ambitious development project aimed at resurrecting the Chinese ancient Silk Road and realizing the Chinese dream. As it stands, the BRI’s beneficiary states are no more beholden to China than to other creditors, and few would argue that European donors, international banks, or private bond holders are strictly motivated by their own geopolitical interests when they support, say, hydropower in Ethiopia. 5.0 out of 5 stars A captivating and insightful book on the many dimensions of One Belt, One Road Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2019 I like how Mr. Maçães first gives the details of the enormous investments in roads, railroads, and ports, and then explains how they fit with China’s more aggressive economic strategy. 2016. After that, wage had become the core income. Chinese investment in the country fell from $407 million in the 2012 fiscal year to just $46 million in the 2013 fiscal year, a drop of nearly 90 percent. Thus, China mentioned more on individual country connection to avoid one-way output in the last year and a half. This criticism comes at a pivotal moment in China’s global standing, as the US and EU simultaneously call attention to the ongoing human rights crisis in China’s Xinjiang province. China could bring a new global definition on international relations, so as for the whole human society. Along the way, the intertwined stories of Xinjiang province and the BRI have been lost, and with them, a rare window into more robust sanctions and scrutiny on Xi’s administration going forward. It should be noted that Confucianism and Taoism have never been exported to other countries in China’s history; instead the outsiders came to China to learn Chinese culture. This is not for lack of other viable criticisms. A lot of progress has been made thus far. After the World War II, the lower-end production capacity western developed countries was also as the point to be transferred oversea, while China took on the job. One Belt One Road Initiative, which is now referred as Belt & Road Initiative, the Project has expanded to nearly every corner of the world. An article published in the Financial Times in July this year pointed out that 234 out of 1,674 Chinese-invested infrastructure projects announced in 66 Belt and Road countries since 2013 have encountered difficulties. Both the European Union and the United States have expressed alarm about repression and violence in China. While initially focused on Asia, Europe, and Africa, the scope has become global and encompasses over 100 countries, including the United States. While the western cultural promotion is majorly religious related, which could also be called social organization promotion, which had been going on for centuries. From its inception as a northbound land “belt” through Central Asia and a southbound maritime “road” to Europe, South Africa, and Southeast Asia, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) now comprises a broad suite of proposals that touch on tangible infrastructure projects, international trade deals, and even space activities to enhance China’s satellite navigation system. For all the criticism that the BRI has shouldered as a recipe for predatory lending, covert dealmaking, or long-term economic turmoil, the debt-trap narrative is a remarkably cautious critique. ports and vital minerals. Fang JinReturn to the full report It has been nearly three years since Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the autumn of 2013. Meanwhile, debate over the BRI still fixates on the economic risks it poses globally. Meanwhile, China has occupied the major international market. Presented as a domestic human rights issue, then, the BRI could capture not just the attention of economists, but of humanitarian relief organizations, EU member states, and the broad public. Second, China’s victory in the Sino-Indian war in Tibet in 1962 buried the seed of India’s ill feeling. There are pressing ideological and rights-based grounds to mount a more robust and compelling attack against the BRI, chief among them its troubling connection to the ongoing human rights crisis in Xinjiang.