Ahmad Hassan Ali
History and culture of any state plays a very critical role in its decision making and policy formation. Such is the case with china, its strategic mindset is fundamentally influenced by the country’s rich historical and cultural values which in a way is directing its global action, with a Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) being a prime example.
The BRI was launched in 2013 and aims at spreading China’s reach to the rest of the world through a series of interlinked infrastructural development projects spanning Europe, Asia and Africa. This article seeks to address how Chinese strategic culture, which is described as being at the policy level, change the perception and making of the BRI. It looks into the reasons for the initiative, the position of the Chinese hegemon in the new political world order, and whether China will be able to sustain its economic ambitions. As Chinese aspirations and its economic activities through the BRI get unleashed, it is certain that international relations and the dynamics of trade will undergo a shift and for that understanding why Chinese are thinking the way they are will be critically important.
China’s strategic culture is heavily influenced by its history, philosophy, and geography. Some of the ideas that force such ideas include Confucianism, Taoism, and ancient military strategies such as ‘the art of war’ written by Sun Tzu. Such a cultural frame calls for emphasis on patience, a longer perspective and strategies to adapt to changes.
The Belt and Road Initiative National Integration and Development is determined by the importance of China’s infrastructure development, or ‘bridging’ in the founder’s terms, with other countries. To achieve this goal, China invests into relations with almost half of the world’s nations. First of all, it increases the volume of the external economic activity of China, or more broadly speaking the volume of economic globalization. Second, it expands the market and therefore dampens international competition between Chinese manufacturers. Finally, important for BRI and the associated benefit, is that China becomes deeper entrenched economically and politically in these regions to be able to play a bigger hand in defeating rivals without direct confrontation.
Furthermore, the BRI opens opportunities for China’s economy, fostering growth among its regions through infrastructure developments. China’s regional economic growth can, in turn, cultivate job creation: due to an increase of labor demand in China’s region, there is a decrease in the net flow of labor to the region, which allows that particular area to attain US level GDP per capita. Therefore, it allows China to gain further in terms of increased exports, to be on a more level playing field with America but without engaging in armed conflict — which is a major draw for the Chinese in that regard. Overall, BRI and its emerging corridor projects, such as CPEC, in time would be able to place China into a dominant position showing significant economic influence in Asia.
In spite of its wide-ranging potentials, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has confronted enormous obstacles and antagonism, which are at times, justifiable! One of the most notable of these criticisms has been the claim of ‘debt-trap diplomacy’ against China. It is the critics’ claim that china has planned everything in advance and gives loans to developing nations in massive amounts for embarking on huge infrastructural advancements, knowing fully that these countries would find it tough to pay back. This has raised issues of sovereignty risks such as Sri Lanka’s 99-year lease of the Hamabanota port to China.
Also, there are environmental concerns. As part of many BRI efforts, they have to construct a lot, resulting in deforestation, damage to ecosystems, and, of course, pollution. This brought a lot of environmental issues which were unacceptable to many local and regional people as well as organizations.
But the BRI has not been successful because of geopolitical reasons. Countries in the region and especially India are apprehensive of these moves on strategic grounds and especially in regard to projects like the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The United States and its allies have criticized the BRI as a tool for China’s regional and global dominance.
There are other internal issues in China that also create barriers. Funding the BRI has resulted in the putting of severe pressure on China’s economy, particularly when the domestic due to international relations so up and down.
The Belt and Road Initiative carries immense international and geopolitical strategies for China as well as the international system. For the Chinese government, the BRI is seen as one of the major pathways to accomplishing its objective of becoming a superpower. And by building-up infrastructure and economic links, China resolves the access to crucial highways, resources, and energy by lessening the dependency on trouble spots like the Strait of Malacca. Such diversification enhances not only China’s economic risk but also her geopolitical odds over the countries involved.
Additionally, the BRI has assisted China in extending its influence over Asia, Africa and Europe. Through the economic linkages, China has further advanced its diplomatic relations with developing countries that consider the initiative as a chance to grow. These relationships bolster China’s clout in multilateral organizations and across international negotiations allowing it to defy norms established by Western countries and push for its governance model.
At the regional level, the BRI has altered the power relations. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) among many projects was able to cement China’s bond North South, and deepened strategic challenges posed towards her competitors such as India. In the South China Sea and other areas, the BRI has furthered China’s overall goal which is to promote agriculture, fishing, and services.
The Belt and Road Initiative’s (BRI) coherence with the principles of ancient Chinese culture as well as the modern integrative aspects of international relations stems from its representation as China’s strategic roadmap. It is Beijing’s view of historical evolution and what it believes to be the current course of events that captures this drive to join the rest of the world.
By pouring resources into infrastructure construction on other continents, China has been able to increase its economic impact while expanding its geopolitical reach. It has brought about major changes in the relations between the world’s economic centers in ways never witnessed in history as China has been forced to become a key player in world politics.
The BRI’s case has, however, not been smooth sailing as critics of the initiative have accused Beijing of using several dubious high-handed techniques such as debt-trap diplomacy, ruckus over environmental protection as well as antagonism with other nation-states. In turn, China has shown its strategic pragmatism by changing the terms of debt in other words, re-negotiating the debt, practicing environmentally sensitive practices, and dealing with critics from across the world.
The Belt and Road Initiative BRI informs policy implication that go beyond infrastructure development It has created new trade on economic cooperation joining together countries that were not able to be part of the western network of trade and also offered an alternative idea on global development. At the same time, it has intensified political-strategic relations with the United States of America and India being the highlights of the potential conflict that is developing in the international order.
The Student is Research fellow at ISSRA ( Institute of Strategic Studies, Research and Analysis) Islamabad.
