Regardless of China or local countries, the most important thing is to achieve sustainable development of the Belt and Road.(Bloomberg)
It has been more than six years since the introduction of policy introduction to implementation.Although some Western countries have been questioning, the efforts of the proposal China have never been interrupted.During the period, there were also countries changed from early positive to negative, but more countries also joined. They all regarded this as the development opportunities of their own countries, not the threats that some Western countries said.
Even though local countries in the Belt and Road Initiative occur during the project execution process, for them, the problem is not because of the threats rendered by some Western countries, but to work hard to communicate and discuss how China can communicate and discuss how to make the Belt and Road more.good.In fact, it is more efficient, better, and sustainable to do the Belt and Road Initiative, which is also a problem considered by China today.
Six years have passed, and China has accumulated a lot of experience and lessons in all aspects.Summarizing these experiences and lessons is to make the Belt and Road have a bright future.People can summarize experience and lessons from all aspects, but the following aspects are undoubtedly important.
First, improve the policy definition of the Belt and Road Initiative.The early stages proposed by the initiative have a unique nature, that is, whether it is the area or the road, they are pointing with their geographical scope.Although the Belt and Road Initiative is used to emphasize its business and peaceful nature, the differences between the Belt and Road and the Road make this concept have uniqueness.After the initiative is proposed, when it comes to the Belt and Road Initiative, people will show a specific roadmap.However, this situation is far from explaining today's situation.
First of all, the generalization of relevant parties in China has made the countries covering today's Belt and Road have greatly surpassed the scope of the original imagination, and as more and more countries join, this trend will continue.Secondly, the questions raised by countries that are considered to be regarded as not along the coast along the Belt and Road, is whether they belong to the Belt and Road Initiative.Third, the Special Belt and Road Initiative also gives people a association with military maps.Some of the unwilling people in the West are like this, because most of the Belt and Road Initiative is on the land, these people imagine the roadmap of the Belt and Road to other countries in Western imperialist countries in the past, and therefore called the Belt and Road Initiative as the new imperialism of China.New colonialism such as expansionism.
Looking for new definitions of the Belt and Road Initiative
From this new situation, the definition of the Belt and Road must be improved.Under the new definition, all the countries you are willing to participate can be involved without any geographical factors.This is also in line with the openness and inclusiveness of the original design of the Belt and Road.Therefore, the Belt and Road Initiative can be defined as the open policy of China in the new period, or an important part of China's open policy in the new period.The opening policy of the Chinese Communist Party in the new era is very wide, including continuing to promote globalization, freedom of trade, going out, opening up the Chinese market, and attracting foreign capital.The Belt and Road Initiative is both a go global in China and the outside world.
Second, the content of the Belt and Road Initiative is more clearly stipulated, that is, the core content of the Belt and Road Infrastructure construction, interconnection, and financial activities related to infrastructure.After the introduction of the Belt and Road Initiative, in order to spread the needs, its scope is extremely extensive.In the process of execution, people regard almost everything as Belt and Road.At the practical level, the Belt and Road Initiative refers to the improvement of people's awareness, but at the same time, it also has a bad effect.Because everything has to be associated with the Belt and Road Initiative, in some countries, this initiative seems to be a whole government strategy in China, intending to affect local countries and society.
It is important for daily investment and trade and humanistic and cultural exchanges, but it is not necessary to associate with the Belt and Road, because there are no Belt and Road, these are ongoing.If the content is too broad, it will cause unnecessary security issues to the local country.For example, the Belt and Road Initiative of China is the need for communication needs of the Belt and Road Initiative, but if it emphasizes too much, it will convey bad information to the local countries and people, thinking that China will control the information network of the Belt and Road.
In fact, infrastructure and interconnection construction should be the original intention of the Belt and Road.These aspects are China's comparative advantages, because after decades of reform and opening up, China has capital, production capacity and technology.The construction of infrastructure and interconnection is the core experience of China's own successful economic story. No country can build such a backward infrastructure into world -class in just decades.At the same time, the lack of infrastructure in most developing countries covered by the Belt and Road Initiative has seriously hindered the local economic development.For example, the Ayanan country has a long -term interconnection plan in the region, but the infrastructure investment gap is too large, and the goal of unable to achieve interconnection for a long time.Even if the developed West has been known for its high -quality infrastructure construction, the infrastructure of many countries has not been updated for many years. It seems old and old, and it needs further development.
Furthermore, infrastructure and interconnection are an important supplement to China's current international economic organization activities, because the World Bank and Asian Development Bank are not enthusiastic about infrastructure, or infrastructure construction is not the original intention of these international economic organizations.Therefore, after China introduced the Belt and Road Initiative, these international institutions all showed very enthusiasm because they saw the complementary nature of the Belt and Road and themselves, which was common development, rather than competing with each other.
Third, more clearly define the nature of the Belt and Road Initiative.This aspect is the most important.As mentioned above, the West has been intentionally or unintentionally misunderstood or distorted the Belt and Road.In fact, the Belt and Road Initiative is not the pursuit of leadership in the international community, thereby replacing the United States (and the West).On the contrary, the Belt and Road Initiative of China is a supplement to the retreat and shrinking and atrophic of developed countries such as the United States in developed countries such as the United States.In the global governance, the great country plays the role of small powers. When the existing power cannot be responsible, the newly rising country must take responsibility.
China should bear greater responsibility in terms of global governance, and it is part of the responsibility of the United States that China in the past.As mentioned above, the Belt and Road Infrastructure and interconnection are focused, China and the United States (and the West) are not competitive in this field, because Capital of the United States (and West) is not interested in this.In this regard, not only does the Belt and Road Initiative do not have the meaning of competition between China and the United States, but it will strengthen the cooperation and responsibility sharing of China and the United States in international affairs, thereby avoiding caught in a trap of Xiu Xidid.The American people and business circles do not oppose China and the Belt and Road Initiative. What is suspicious and opposed is those vested interest groups with deep cold war thinking.
China must solve several problems
However, for China itself, there must be several levels of problems.First of all, it is necessary to clarify that the Belt and Road Initiative is economic development and commercial projects, and the pursuit of common development with local countries.If China's reform and opening up means that foreign capital enters China, it is a foreign participation in China's economic development, where the Belt and Road goes show that the opening of these countries to China is the economic development of China to participate in these countries and mutual benefit.Secondly, the Belt and Road is a public product provided by China for the international community.Since the World Financial Crisis in 2008, the structural reform of major economies including the West, including the West, and lack the growth momentum of the world economy.The unbalanced world economy, coupled with the long -term differences in north and south, the world economy is facing a huge dilemma.If the economy cannot recover, there will be problems with the entire world order.
China has contributed to the re -balance of the world economy through the Belt and Road, and it is also part of the responsibility of China's great powers.Again, focusing on economic development is the difference between China and other big powers, reflectingThe essence of Chinese country.Historically, every major country's rise will lead to the country's military expansion in regional and even worldwide.The United States mainly builds and maintain its hegemony through military, political and diplomatic forces.In Chinese history, it has always been a business country. It is not interested in the internal affairs of other countries, and is only interested in business and trade. There is no change in these aspects now.In the long run, China will never become an American with expansionism.
Furthermore, new rules and systems will be generated in business activities in the country.The West has always been skeptical of China, thinking that China does not accept international rules formulated by the West, and even revised international rules.However, the problem is that in many developing countries, since World War II, the rules and methods of the West have been tested. As a result, not only can not promote the economic and social development of developing countries, but these economies have been trapped in stagnation and backward state for a long time.China's development has been achieved under Western supervision over the years.
China does not refuse the current international rules, but it will not stay on the rules of Western formulation simply.China and international rules have three layers of relationships, namely, in line, reform and supplement.The Belt and Road Initiative is not only a reform of world rules, but also a supplement to world rules.Therefore, in terms of rules, whether the rules generated by the Belt and Road are conducive to local development, local countries have the most right to speak, and the West cannot speak for these countries.The current advantage of the West is only its right to speak in modern times.
Fourth, more clearly clarify the implementation method of the Belt and Road Initiative, that is, multilateralism.This problem is concerned by many countries, especially the countries covered by the Belt and Road.As mentioned above, these countries' complaints on the Belt and Road Initiative comes from the implementation methods, not the Belt and Road Initiative itself.Under the current implementation methods, China's state -owned enterprises take the lead in showing their relationship with the local central government, and they are not related to the local governments and local society of the local country.In addition, the scale of the project carried out by state -owned enterprises is too large and closed, and it is difficult for local enterprises and society to participate.The feeling of some local governments and society is that the land is requisitioned and the environment is affected, but what does these projects have to do with themselves?Therefore, ... last year, it was particularly emphasized at the fifth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative that it was necessary to benefit the local people in one way.
Promoting the local people is undoubtedly the only direction for the development of the Belt and Road Initiative.To achieve this goal, the Belt and Road Initiative needs to implement a clearer multilateralism.In fact, multilateralism is the original intention of the Chinese government.China emphasizes the openness and inclusiveness of the Belt and Road Initiative, and is welcome to join any country.
In recent years, China has also emphasized mechanisms such as third -party development, which are multilateralism.However, the new development requires a multilateral mechanism, including at least three levels.
First, at the enterprise level, the openness of various enterprises should be realized, including Chinese or private enterprises in Chinese state -owned enterprises, private enterprises, local countries, and state -owned or private enterprises (third -party development) of third countries.
Second, at the national level, a stronger rule coordination mechanism is required to alleviate and even avoid the impact of government replacement on the Belt and Road.Most of the current coordination mechanisms are among two (central) governments. The new coordination mechanism can include more stakeholders, including local governments, enterprises and social organizations.
Third, at the international level, multilateral mechanisms need to be introduced to supervise the construction of the Belt and Road.Here we can consider the relationship between Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Belt and Road.The AIIB is a multilateral mechanism, so can it be placed under the supervision of the AIIB?Or is it under a new multilateral mechanism?Or can we consider setting up a permanent supervision agency under the Belt and Road Summit?This problem can be considered.In short, under the supervision of this multilateral mechanism, in the long run, this is conducive to the scientificity of decision -making, reducing political nature, increasing economic rationality, and achieving sustainable development.
The Belt and Road Initiative is not a short -term project like the Marshall plan, but a long -term national policy opened by China; the Belt and Road Initiative is not a closed project led by a country in China, but an open project involved in multiple countries.Regardless of China or local countries, the most important thing is to achieve sustainable development of the Belt and Road.Only by continuously summing up the lessons and lessons, keeping with the times, and continuous improvement, the sustainable development goals can be achieved.
(The author is the director of the East Asia Research Institute of the National University of Singapore)
The article only represents personal point of view
