“ONE BELT, ONE ROAD”
Prof. Carol Wise
April 9, 2019

Ferdinand’s article describes the process moving China Dream to OBOR and foreign policies under Xi
Jinping. Aoyama’s article describes the OBOR policy and the relations with different countries
under the policy. The article by Du describes the initiative of the policy.

3 PRINCIPLES OF “GREAT REJUVENATION OF THE CHINESE NATION”
•1) Attaining stability in Sino-American relations (Due to U.S.’s increasing in its military
cooperation with allied nations in the Asia-Pacific)
•2) Creating a sphere of influence and increasing its own influence in the international community
(”Continue to keep a low profile, actively seek to achieve something”. The shift in focus to
“achieve something”)
•3) Not compromising on its “core interests” (Tibet, Xinjiang, the South China Sea, and the attempt
to increase its influence in the international community)
•

Introduced by the Xi Jinping administration. Another slogan “New normal” aims for stable growth
while making structural reforms instead of pursuing a high rate of growth. The drop in economic
growth in 2015 indicates the risk of increasing dissatisfaction with the administration and a
resulting spread of social instability.

CHINA DREAM
•China Dream: negotiation between collective identity and individual aspirations. It is like a
large body of water––the dream reveals the Chinese people as having a collective will and identity
shaped by a difficult history but at the same time if individuals and communities took closely into
the dream they should be able to see their own reflection in it.
•“The China dream is the inner meaning of upholding and developing socialism with Chinese
characteristics”.
•The essence is a rich and powerful country, revitalizing the nation and enhancing the well-being
of the people.
•It reflects China as a superior country and surpassing the western development path.

INITIATIVE OF “ONE BELT, ONE ROAD”
•President Xi came up with the initiatives of the land-based “Silk Road Economic Belt” and
oceangoing “maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century” while visiting Kazakhstan and Indonesia,
respectively.
•Xi Jinping’s possible initiative was to remind his Kazakhstani host about their shared commercial
ties along the Silk Road, stretching back millennia.
•Chinese president hopes to bind together 65 countries and 4.4 billion people from Xi’an, a western
city in China.
•The strategy is not intended to make a fresh start, but to integrate China’s existing multilateral
and bilateral mechanisms into a broader framework.

FOCUS OF SILK ROAD INITIATIVE AND MSR
•1) Policy Coordination: calls for frequent diplomatic communications among the countries along the
Silk Road with a view to promoting the “mind-meeting” of governments in these countries.
•2) Facility Connectivity: requires prioritizing the key projects such as ASIIB and the Silk Road
•3) Unimpeded Trade & 4) Financial Integration: engender formidable work of institution-building
among all the countries along the Silk Road
•5) People-to-People Bond: requires intercourse and interaction between people of all countries
along the Silk Road.
•Keywords: Connectivity and Cooperation

Under SREB/MSR

INSTITUTIONS UNDER SREB/MSR
•Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO): the economic integration among the SCO member countries
is slow and has no apparent accomplishments. This is due to the members lacking the incentive to
promote a free trade agreement (FTA) among themselves.
•ASEAN Plus China (10+1): CAFTA: a low standard FTA, although used by China to offer “Early Harvest
Package” to ASEAN members, it lacks visibility in the arena of FTAs.
•Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB): 57 countries have committed to join the AIIB, making
it an authentic international development bank and serving the economic development of Asia.

For SREB/MSR

HIGHLIGHTS OF SREB/MSR GOALS

TPP stands for Tran-Pacific Partnership

IMPLICATIONS OF SR/MSR FOR CHINA
•SR/MSR strategy will secure the transport of oil and gas and other essential goods
•Due to end of economic boom, China has overcapacity in industry and construction, deflation and
rising debt management problems. The strategy can ease the entry of Chinese goods into regional
markets, help make use of China’s industrial overcapacity to offset the results from falling
investment rate.
•SR/MSR can improve internal economic integration between the country’s advanced coastal and the
underdeveloped western provinces.

IMPLICATIONS OF SERB/MSR FOR PARTNERS AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
•SREB/MSR strategy will improve region’s economic architecture-––infrastructure development,
patterns of regional trade and investment. But SREB/MSR is very China-centric and that other
participating states will gain only marginal benefits.
•SREB/MSR strategy is an upgraded version of China’s opening-up policy as well as its strategy for
globalization.
•Chinese globalization needs to nurture shared interests, shared system and effective dispute
settlement mechanism.
•Western officials also fear that a flood of Chinese development money will undermine governance
standards at existing lending institutions like the World Bank to politically motivated projects or
to environmentally damaging ones.

ONE BELT, ONE ROAD
•Introduced due to “China’s surrounding environment has worsened dramatically, with escalated
confrontation between Japan and China, and an increase in tensions with surrounding nations due to
issues regarding territorial waters” South China Sea
•Started off as a concept and gradually turned into specific measures.
•Not only a regional strategy, but also a global strategy for China.
•China is seeking opportunities for foreign relations both to the south and the west
1)Developing infrastructure
2)Creating a large economic market by strengthening relations between China and other countries
3)Easing excess domestic productions through exporting to stimulate its economy

XI’S FOREIGN POLICY “CONCEPTS”
1)“New type of Great Power relations”: characterize Sino-American relations since Xi met Obama
2)Issue of relations with states around China’s borders
3)“One Belt, One Road” initiative (OBOR): potentially involves over 60 countries with a combined
population of over 4 billion people, whose markets currently account for 1/3 of global GDP.
•Maritime Silk Road: Prime Minister Li Keqiang announced the plan linking south-east China with
south-east Asia, Bangladesh, India, the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean, ultimately also ending
up in Germany and the Netherlands.
•

SIX INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC CORRIDORS
1)China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor
2)New Eurasia Land Bridge (Second Eurasia Land Bridge) Economic Corridor
3)China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor
4)China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor
5)China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
6)BCIM Economic Corridor
•21st-Century Maritime Silk Road: Routes from the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean to Europe
and Africa, and routes from the South China Sea to the South Pacific.

DIFFERENCES WITH PREVIOUS POLICIES
•1) Large geographical scope: No reduction in economic disparity between eastern and western China
because of the difficulty in opening up western China due to ethnic issues.
•The policy aims to expands China’s economic sphere to both Central Asia and Europe and Arab
nations in the west.
•2) Simultaneous progression of efforts to open up east and west as well as land and sea efforts.
•Through the policy, the Chinese government hopes to stimulate the economies of the northeast,
central, and western regions of China, whose economies have fallen behind, and open up the eastern
region of China to the outside world to an even greater degree.
•

CHINESE RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS UNDER OBOR
•China-America: Only agreed to create a channel for dialogue. Emissions trading system
•China-ASEAN: Resolve the South China Sea issue through dialogue with concerned parties, and to
maintain security in the South China Sea with the concerned parties. Remove American influence and
promote security cooperation.
•China-Brunei: Signed a bilateral agreement to strengthen maritime cooperation and promote joint
development
•China-Vietnam: Had strong disagreements concerning territorial waters in the past. Agreed to
establish an “infrastructure cooperation working group” and a “finance and currency cooperation
working group”
•Sino-Japanese relations have improved. Various security talks, talks between the legislative
bodies, New Japan-China Friendship Committee and the Energy Conservation and Environment Forum.

CHINESE RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS UNDER OBOR CONT.
•China-Korea: There were competing claims for exclusive economic zones between China and South
Korea in the Yellow Sea as well as a territorial dispute regarding Socotra Rock. But they
strengthened cooperation regarding the North Korea issue and opened up a national defense hotline
in Dec. 2015
•China-North Korea: There was a cool-down in the relationship between China and North Korea. China
tried to revive the “traditional friendship” with North Korea but the phrase received criticism.
The relationship between China and North Korea did not improve as shown by the Moranbong Band
cancelling their event in Beijing and returning to North Korea.
•China-Taiwan: A cabinet-level hotline was opened between the Taiwan Executive Yuan’s Mainland
Affairs Council, which handles relations with China, and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office of the State
Council.

CHINESE RELATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS UNDER OBOR CONT.
•China-France: EU members signed an agreement with France to develop third party markets, and
agreement regarding China-France joint fund.
•China-UK: Not only reaffirmed a strengthening of cooperation in finance, but also agreed on
Chinese investment in a power company in Hinkley Point, as well as the installation of Chinese
nuclear reactor in the UK.
•China-Germany:  Cooperation agreements in finance, energy, information and communications,
industry and agriculture, and education.
•China’s projects: Railway linking Serbia and Hungary. Macedonian high speed rail. Bridge over the
Danube River in Serbia. Wind farms in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
•China-Africa: China promised to provide aid to communications companies in Africa while calling
for media cooperation to weaken the influence of Western media in Africa. China-Africa Cooperation
Summit (Dec 2015): China promised $60 billion in financial assistance over next 3 years, a $10
billion China-Africa Fund for Production Capacity Cooperation, and $6 million over the next 5 years
to the African Union (AU).
•

OBOR AS GLOBAL STRATEGY
•China plans to strengthen 5 areas with OBOR: 1) policy, 2) finance, 3) trade, 4) infrastructure,
and 5) people-to-people exchanges.
•Challenges: 1) Chinese economy has slowed down; therefore, making OBOR commitments less certain;
2) A large portion of the regions covered by OBOR have unstable security and political situations.
•Despite an increase in cooperation between China and many other nations and regions, the progress
on economic corridors has slowed.

GEOPOLITICAL IMPLICATIONS
•OBOR initiative demonstrates a Chinese concern to compete with the U.S. through strategic economic
policies and military buildup.
•OBOR also diverts some Chinese attention away from the Pacific and towards the west: Can
potentially make Europe more dependent economically upon China .
•There are more potential openings for trade with countries to the west than in east Asia.
Already, China is becoming both a global and an Asian power.
•

REQUIREMENTS & ECONOMIC CORRIDORS
1)Will require US$6 trillion funding,  US$1 trillion from China
2)Cooperation with involved nations:
•Construction of the pipeline from Gwadar Port, Pakistan to Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region suddenly became more realistic.
•BCIM Economic Corridor pertaining to Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar has proposed routes: north,
central, and south. However, the routes are still undetermined because of the difficulty to reach
an agreement.
•China and Belarus agreed to create an industrial park as a symbol for cooperation on the Silk
Road.
•China and Russia issued a joint statement concerning a link between the Silk Road Economic Belt
led by China and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Aim to create a transportation route from
Heilongjian to Vladivostok.
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