Место издания:Institute of International Politics and Economics Belgrade, Serbia
Первая страница:86
Последняя страница:107
Аннотация:China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative puts new emphasis on the development
of the system of international relations, and it is expected to contribute to the
further displacement of the gravity center of the world economy and the
expansion of intercontinental trade flows. Increased attention to the proposed
project could be explained not only by its scale and supra-regional territorial
coverage, but also with an ambiguous attitude to it in potential member
countries, as well as by uncertainty of content, which allows experts to find
different interpretations of its goals and objectives. Over time, it becomes
increasingly clear that China is seeking to expand the scope of ‘One Belt, One
Road’ (OBOR) by the realization of various projects in partner countries,
deliberately giving them the initiative for the development of investment
proposals. Having succeeded in creating the financial basis of this strategy and
reducing the number of possible political risks, the Chinese authorities are
rewarded not only with the growing interest to OBOR in the partner countries
but also with the increasing competition between them for transportation routes
development. This eventually will allow China to control the critical elements
of an extensive network of ground transportation in Eurasia, which will be used
for the intercontinental trade, especially for deliveries to remote areas of the
hinterland (although the prospects to compete with sea transport remain non-obvious).
We should not underestimate the other political and economic benefits
of OBOR initiative that modestly silenced in official statements and documents.
But at the same time while assessing the strategy we should refrain from the
alarmist predictions about the formation of a new world order and hegemonic aspirations – at this stage, Chinese authorities consider OBOR as an opportunity
to address the crucial problems of socioeconomic development, resource
provision and the reduction of regional disparities. Neighboring countries,
regardless of their regional ambitions and economic weight, have a chance to
take advantage of externalities that will arise during the implementation of the
new Chinese project.