{"id":11788,"date":"2017-05-15T16:31:59","date_gmt":"2017-05-15T11:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/jwt2015\/?p=11788"},"modified":"2017-05-18T16:43:57","modified_gmt":"2017-05-18T11:43:57","slug":"how-china-proposed-belt-and-road-initiative-is-making-the-world-smaller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/studykit\/currentaffairs\/daily-articles\/how-china-proposed-belt-and-road-initiative-is-making-the-world-smaller\/","title":{"rendered":"How China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative is making the world smaller"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Chen Shilei<\/strong><\/p>\n

With a high-level forum on the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative, scheduled to take place in Beijing from May 14-15, approaching, the China proposed initiative has again drawn the world\u2019s focus.<\/p>\n

Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative, comprising the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond ancient trade routes.<\/p>\n

The initiative, which embraces the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit, has gained support from more than 100 countries and international organizations, among which more than 40 have signed cooperation agreements with China.<\/p>\n

NO MARSHALL PLAN<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amid skeptics questioning China\u2019s intentions behind the initiative, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said: \u201cWe have no intention to designate a clear geographic bound for the Belt and Road Initiative, because it is an initiative for international cooperation in its essence, and should be open to all like-minded countries and regions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Critics have likened the Belt and Road Initiative to the politically laden post-war Marshall Plan.<\/p>\n

However, unlike the Marshall Plan, the Belt and Road Initiative will never lead China to form a military alliance, and the economic cooperation it purposes will not alter the current security landscape.<\/p>\n

In fact, the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed during the post-financial crisis era when the world urgently needed a more open and inclusive global economy.<\/p>\n

Almost nine years after the 2008 financial crisis, the world economy is still struggling to recover. According to a UN Conference on Trade and Development and a World Bank report last year, foreign direct investment around the world dropped by 13 percent, while global trade grew by slightly more than 1 percent, the worst performance since the crisis.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, fragmented international cooperation makes it difficult to effectively integrate resources to address global challenges.<\/p>\n

Against such a backdrop, Xi put forward the initiative offering opportunities for cooperation and development for all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Belt and Road Initiative, though initiated by China, is not only about China,\u201d Xi said. \u201cI hope people in all countries along the Belt and Road will actually feel the benefits brought by the initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile taking care of our own interests, we will give more consideration and care to the interests of other countries,\u201d the Chinese president said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi shows that he attaches great importance to cooperation between Europe and Asia,\u201d former French Prime Minister JeanPierre Raffarin told Chinese newspaper People\u2019s Daily. \u201cIt will inject vitality into global development and shows his global vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raffarin said the initiative is a creative one, which shows China has the capability to create a new era for global development.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s proposals, from the Belt and Road Initiative to the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), from the setup of a US$1 billion China-UN peace and development fund to a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops, shows the giant is assuming the responsibilities of a major country, said Raffarin.<\/p>\n

WIN WIN FOR ALL<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three years on since the Belt and Road Initiative was launched, China and countries along the ancient trade routes are witnessing positive results in infrastructure connectivity, production capacity, trade, investment and finance.<\/p>\n

Remarkable progress has been made in the construction of land and maritime routes.<\/p>\n

For instance, construction is underway for phase II of the Karakorum highway connecting China and Pakistan, the Multan-Sukkur section of the Lahore-Karachi highway in Pakistan, the China-Laos railway and the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway in Indonesia.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the port city in Sri Lanka\u2019s capital of Colombo is starting to take shape, while Chinese shipping giant China COSCO Shipping took over the management of the Piraeus Port Authority last year.<\/p>\n

WHERE CULTURES MEET<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regarding production capacity, China is cooperating with nearly 20 countries, with 51 important projects confirmed with a total investment value of $27 billion.<\/p>\n

Just last year, trade between China and countries along the Belt and Road hit 6.3 trillion yuan ($913 billion). China\u2019s direct investment in those countries exceeds $14.5 billion.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also financial support to ensure Belt and Road projects see the light of day. The China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank now has 70 members. The first projects under the $40 billion Silk Road Fund have begun, with a value of $5.3 billion.<\/p>\n

Amid uncertainties in the world economy, Belt and Road cooperation is key to kick starting global growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the most attractive about the Belt and Road Initiative is that it not only spurs China\u2019s development, but also benefits other participating countries,\u201d said Spanish Ambassador to China Manuel Valencia.<\/p>\n

The ancient Silk Road was where Chinese civilization met with Indian, Arab and European cultures. Today, the Belt and Road Initiative seeks to once again bring East and West closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ancient silk roads are not just routes of trade, but routes of friendship,\u201d Xi said.<\/p>\n

By the end of 2016, China signed more than 300 cultural agreements with countries along the Belt and Road and set up 11 centers for Chinese culture in those countries.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, people-to-people ties related to the initiative, such as international art festivals, fairs, and forums, are in full swing.<\/p>\n

The Chinese government also set up the Silk Road Scholarship to annually sponsor 10,000 students in countries along the Belt and Road to study in China.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe initiative of the Belt and Road is not just economic,\u201d said Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, high representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, \u201cbut also builds and promotes intercultural exchanges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.pressreader.com<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Chen Shilei With a high-level forum on the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative, scheduled to take place in Beijing from May 14-15, approaching, the China proposed initiative has again drawn the world\u2019s focus. Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative, comprising the Silk Road Economic Belt and the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":149,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5285],"tags":[8337,8338,1226,610,537,1628,8339,1410],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11788"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/149"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11788\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}