Rethinking the Silk Road : China's Belt and Road Iinitiative and emerging Eurasian relations

This book discusses China’s opportunities to translate economic leverage into political outcomes. The central question is how China’s expanding economic influence will transform the global political landscape. This volume studies the “Belt and Road Initiative” that was proposed in late 2013 by President Xi Jinping. The Belt and Road represents the culmination of China’s search for a grand strategic narrative and is without doubt the most ambitious foreign policy approach adopted thus far. It entails massive infrastructure projects and new financial institutions that firmly link China’s claim to its traditional position in the world system to the “Eurasian moment”. Moving beyond policy analysis, the authors of this volume explore the interplay between China’s new foreign policy and the emerging Eurasian relations not only from a power political perspective but also through the lens of socio-economic regionalisms and techno-spatial transformations as well as the complex evolution of China’s own identity. Comparative methods and divers conceptual frameworks are applied to contextualize and study the political, cultural and economic significance of the Belt Road in order to shed light on its transformative significance, risks and opportunities. Acknowledgments 5 Contents 6 Chapter 1: China’s Rise as Eurasian Power: The Revival of the Silk Road and Its Consequences 9 China’s Eurasian Pivot 12 Towards a Coherent “Strategy” 14 Domestic Political Economy 18 Theoretical Perspectives on China’s Rise as a Eurasian Power 22 Power Dynamics 22 Geoeconomic and Institutional Regional Transformation 25 Co-production of a Global China 29 Conclusion 33 Chapter 2: The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the Leading Function of the Shipping Industry 51 A Broad Interpretation of the Maritime Silk Road 52 Inheritance of the Maritime Silk Road 52 Innovativeness of the Maritime Silk Road 52 Special Features of the Maritime Silk Road 53 Leading Function of Shipping in the Construction of the Maritime Silk Road 54 Shipping Business Requires Infrastructures 54 Shipping Is an Important Channel for Civil Exchange and Communication 55 Shipping Is a Catalyst for the Growth of Real Economies 56 Building Sustainable Frameworks 56 The “Three Routes” 57 Financial Support 57 Legal Security and Navigation Channels 58 Exchange of Marine Transport Information 59 Port State Control Cooperation 60 Coordinating Domestic Shipping Resources 60 Conclusions 61 Chapter 3: Connectivity and International Law in the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road 64 The Concept and Meaning of Maritime Connectivity 65 International Law and Challenges for Maritime Connectivity 67 The Legal Protection of Maritime Connectivity 69 Principle of Peace 69 Resolving Disputes Peacefully 70 International and Domestic Law 72 Conclusions 73 Chapter 4: Special Economic Zones: Integrating African Countries in China’s Belt and Road Initiative 76 China-Africa Cooperation and the Unfolding Belt and Road Initiative 78 Infrastructure Development as Catalyst 80 Special Economic Zones: A “Stepping Stone” 83 Conclusion 85 Chapter 5: Connectivity and Regional Integration: Prospects for Sino-Indian Cooperation 92 Solving the Indo-Chinese Security Dilemma? 93 China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) 94 Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor 96 21st Century Chinese Maritime Silk Road 98 Conclusions: Towards Competition and Cooperation 100 Chapter 6: Africa in the Maritime Silk Road: Challenges and Prospects 106 Africa’s Roles in China’s Silk Road Initiative 108 Infrastructural Construction and China’s Industrial Transfer 109 Africa as Part of Trans-continental Logistical Network 110 Cultural Exchange 111 Enhancement of China’s International Responsibility 112 Challenges that the Maritime Silk Road Initiative in Africa Will Encounter 112 Political and Societal Instability 113 Growing Threat of Terrorism 114 Growing Distrust of China’s Involvement 115 Geopolitical Competition 117 Conclusions 118 Chapter 7: The Belt and Road Initiative and Comprehensive Regionalism in Central Asia 122 A “World of Regions” as Context of the Belt and Road 124 China and Overlapping Regionalisms in Central Asia 126 No More Chessboard, but Strategic Links in Central Asia 128 Conclusions: Towards Comprehensive Regionalism 133 Chapter 8: The New Silk Road for China and Japan: Building on Shared Legacies 138 Japan: An Imperative to Return to the Old Path 140 China: Overseas Infrastructure to Stimulate the Economy 143 Japan’s Central Asia Diplomacy 145 Central Asia in China’s Belt and Road Initiative 148 Concluding Remarks 150 Chapter 9: Knowledge-Based Institutions in Sino-Arctic Engagement: Lessons for the Belt and Road Initiative 154 The Arctic Under Globalization and the Rise of China 155 Theoretical Framework: Transnational Knowledge-­Based Institution 157 Knowledge Institutions’ Role in China’s Arctic Engagement 159 The Arctic Council 159 China Nordic Arctic Research Center 160 Sino-Arctic Bilateral Dialogues 161 The Arctic Circle Assembly 161 Knowledge-Based Institutional Lessons for the Belt and Road Initiative 162 Conclusion: Knowledge-Based Institutions in a Systemic Context 164 Chapter 10: Chinese Investments in European Countries: Experiences and Lessons for the “Belt and Road” Initiative 168 The State of Chinese Investments in the European Union 169 Cooperation Between Chinese Investors and Local Public and Private Actors in the Infrastructure Sector 170 Case N°1: Greece’s Piraeus Harbor COSCO-Run Container Port Targeting Europe and the Balkans 172 Case N°2: Through Portugal, Is China Targeting the Lusophone Market? 175 What Is the Impact of Chinese Investments on Targeted Countries? 178 Lessons to Be Learned 179 Chapter 11: Former Empires, Rising Powers: Turkey’s Neo-Ottomanism and China’s New Silk Road 183 Post-colonial IR Meets Pragmatism 185 A New Unit of Analysis: Former Empires, Rising Powers (FERPs) 187 Turkey’s Neo-Ottoman Experiment 188 The Empire Strikes Back: A Sequel? 191 Relevance for China’s Belt and Road Initiative 193 Chapter 12: Knowing the World: International and Chinese Perspectives on the Disciplinarization of Country and Area Studies 197 The Historical Development of Country and Area Studies 199 Disciplinary Orientation and Academic Careers in China and the US 201 Disciplines and Specialties: The German Experience 203 Conclusion 205 Chapter 13: Modern Silk Road Imaginaries and the Co-production of Space 210 Theoretical Approach 211 Reorganizing the World Image 214 Globalized Connectivity 216 From Countries to Corridors 217 A Regional “Blue Economy” 219 Conclusion 222 Chapter 14: Berlin Looking Eastward: German Views of and Expectations from the New Silk Road 232 Trying to Understand What the BR Means 233 The BR as a Central Element of China’s Foreign Policy 235 Coordinating a European Response 236 A Platform for Dialogue 238 Is Europe the BR’s Ultimate Target? 239 For the Time Being, a Circumspect Approach 241 Open Questions 242 After Brexit: Whither Berlin and Beijing? 244 Chapter 15: The Geopolitical Significance of Sino-Russian Cooperation in Central Asia for the Belt and Road Initiative 252 Chinese-Russian Relations After the End of the Cold War 253 Shared Regional Interests 253 Establishment of a Multipolar World Order 255 Economic Cooperation 257 Russian Ambivalence in Light of a Stronger China 259 Beijing’s New Regional Outreach: The Belt and Road Initiative 262 First Steps Towards a Harmonization of SCO, EAEU, and BR 263 Conclusion 265 Chapter 16: Changing International System Structures and the Belt and Road Initiative 273 Three Dimensions of the International Structure 273 Contemporary Global Structures Under Change 275 China and the Changing International Structures 277 The Structural Complexities of the New Silk Road 279 Conclusion 282 Index 284 "Mayer provides a compelling rationale to focusing on China's grand ambitions in the context of China's external relations. It is a rare combination of nuanced historical narratives with detailed empirical studies and comparative frameworks. This brilliant and thoughtful book tackles the most important question facing the world in the 21st century--China's future grand strategy. It should be a must-read for serious scholars and policy makers around the world who are interested in or concerned about China's rise." --Dingding Chen, Professor of International Relations, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China "China's belt and road initiative makes a turning point in China's search for a grand strategic narrative and in the debates about China's rise. This excellent collection of papers combines a series of in-depth empirical studies from the perspective of China's relationships with key countries and regions, with systematic exploration of theoretical frameworks for understanding the initiative. It will be a valuable resource for practitioners and scholars alike." --Tim Summers, Chatham House, Asia Program Focused on the "Belt and Road Initiative", this book discusses China's opportunities to translate economic leverage into political outcomes. The central question is how China's expanding economic influence will transform the Eurasian political landscape. Proposed in late 2013 by President Xi Jinping, the Belt and Road is the most ambitious foreign policy approach adopted thus far and represents the culmination of China's search for a grand strategic narrative. Comparative methods and diverse conceptual frameworks are applied to contextualize and explore the political, economic, and cultural ramifications of the Belt and Road in order to shed light on its transformative significance, risks and opportunities. Maximilian Mayer is a research professor at the German Studies Center of Tongji University,China. He is co-editor of the two-volume The Global Politics of Science and Technology and Art and Sovereignty in Global Politics. His research interests include the global politics of technoscience and innovation, China's foreign and energy policy, global climate politics, and International Relations theories "Mayer provides a compelling rationale to focusing on China's grand ambitions in the context of China's external relations. It is a rare combination of nuanced historical narratives with detailed empirical studies and comparative frameworks. This brilliant and thoughtful book tackles the most important question facing the world in the 21st century--China's future grand strategy. It should be a must-read for serious scholars and policy makers around the world who are interested in or concerned about China's rise."--Dingding Chen, Professor of International Relations, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China "China's belt and road initiative makes a turning point in China's search for a grand strategic narrative and in the debates about China's rise. This excellent collection of papers combines a series of in-depth empirical studies from the perspective of China's relationships with key countries and regions, with systematic exploration of theoretical frameworks for understanding the initiative. It will be a valuable resource for practitioners and scholars alike."--Tim Summers, Chatham House, Asia Program Focused on the "Belt and Road Initiative", this book discusses China's opportunities to translate economic leverage into political outcomes. The central question is how China's expanding economic influence will transform the Eurasian political landscape. Proposed in late 2013 by President Xi Jinping, the Belt and Road is the most ambitious foreign policy approach adopted thus far and represents the culmination of China's search for a grand strategic narrative. Comparative methods and diverse conceptual frameworks are applied to contextualize and explore the political, economic, and cultural ramifications of the Belt and Road in order to shed light on its transformative significance, risks and opportunities. Maximilian Mayer is a research professor at the German Studies Center of Tongji University, China. He is co-editor of the two-volume The Global Politics of Science and Technology and Art and Sovereignty in Global Politics. His research interests include the global politics of technoscience and innovation, China's foreign and energy policy, global climate politics, and International Relations theories Front Matter ....Pages i-ix China’s Rise as Eurasian Power: The Revival of the Silk Road and Its Consequences (Maximilian Mayer)....Pages 1-42 The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the Leading Function of the Shipping Industry (Hu Zhang)....Pages 43-55 Connectivity and International Law in the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (Guobin Zhang, Yu Long)....Pages 57-68 Special Economic Zones: Integrating African Countries in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (Alexander Demissie)....Pages 69-84 Connectivity and Regional Integration: Prospects for Sino-Indian Cooperation (Darshana M. Baruah, C. Raja Mohan)....Pages 85-98 Africa in the Maritime Silk Road: Challenges and Prospects (Junbo Jian)....Pages 99-114 The Belt and Road Initiative and Comprehensive Regionalism in Central Asia (Ikboljon Qoraboyev, Kairat Moldashev)....Pages 115-130 The New Silk Road for China and Japan: Building on Shared Legacies (Yang Jiang)....Pages 131-146 Knowledge-Based Institutions in Sino-Arctic Engagement: Lessons for the Belt and Road Initiative (Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen, Ping Su)....Pages 147-160 Chinese Investments in European Countries: Experiences and Lessons for the “Belt and Road” Initiative (Philippe Le Corre)....Pages 161-175 Former Empires, Rising Powers: Turkey’s Neo-Ottomanism and China’s New Silk Road (Nora Fisher Onar)....Pages 177-190 Knowing the World: International and Chinese Perspectives on the Disciplinarization of Country and Area Studies (Chunchun Hu)....Pages 191-203 Modern Silk Road Imaginaries and the Co-production of Space (Maximilian Mayer, Dániel Balázs)....Pages 205-226 Berlin Looking Eastward: German Views of and Expectations from the New Silk Road (Wolfgang Röhr)....Pages 227-246 The Geopolitical Significance of Sino-Russian Cooperation in Central Asia for the Belt and Road Initiative (Enrico Fels)....Pages 247-267 Changing International System Structures and the Belt and Road Initiative (Chuanxing Wang)....Pages 269-279 Back Matter ....Pages 281-287 Annotation This volume discusses China's opportunities to translate economic leverage into political outcomes. The central question is how China's expanding economic influence will transform the global political landscape. It studies the 'Belt and Road Initiative' that was proposed in late 2013 by President Xi Jinping. This proposal represents the culmination of China's search for a grand strategic narrative and is without doubt the most ambitious foreign policy approach adopted thus far. It entails massive infrastructure projects and new financial institutions that firmly link China's claim to its traditional position in the world system to the 'Eurasian moment'. Moving beyond policy analysis, the authors of this volume explore the interplay between China's new foreign policy and the emerging Eurasian relations Maximilian Mayer, Editor. This Book Came About As A Result Of A Conference Titled, 'one Belt One Road Initiative Under The Perspective Of Asian-european Cooperation,' Organized At The German Studies Center Of Tongji University, Shanghai, China, On December 3 And 4, 2015.--page V. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.