Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    World
    Home / World / World Watch

    Ambitious concept needs tactics that match

    By Jim O'Neill | China Daily Global | Updated: 2019-04-02 09:28
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    [Photo/VCG]

    In March 2014, I listened to President Xi Jinping unveil his vision for the Belt and Road Initiative at the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan province.

    The excitement about the potential of linking up so many historically important countries along the old Silk Road, all the way through to Europe, was so easy to be swept up in.

    Whether it be neighboring Kazakhstan or distant but crucially located Austria, the conceptual benefits could be huge. For someone like myself, with a background in international economics and especially development economics, I realized just how transforming this could be.

    Not only does economic theory suggest that international trade and cross-border investment boost economic growth in a win-win way, but there is a huge amount of evidence that this actually happens. Whether it be Singapore, to take one example in Asia, or Switzerland, in Europe, there are countless examples. Indeed, China itself, since opening up 40 years ago, has perhaps benefited more than many realize from just these two forces, both of which lie at the core of the BRI concept.

    People might not realize the potential scale of what a successfully implemented BRI could unleash. I created the acronym BRIC when, in2001, I first highlighted the potential for the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China to become important to the world (The acronym was later expanded to BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa). In 2003, colleagues and I first showed that by the late 2030s, these four combined could become economically larger than the G7 countries. Three of these four countries are critically placed for the BRI, with China at its eastern edge and India and Russia in key geographic places. If the ongoing development of the BRI just achieved major increases in trade between China and these two, that in itself could have huge positive trade and foreign direct investment consequences, not just for these countries, but also for satellite nations of each of the three.

    In some ways, the BRI is the first major global initiative that modern China has embarked upon, and it is hardly surprising that there might be some serious challenges. Obviously, China is unique in many ways, including its political system and its interplay with business. It is also unique in that, for such a large country, in its modern incarnation, it has understandably completely prioritized domestic development. The launch of the BRI changes this and brings China's uniqueness into so many other countries.

    I have some specific ideas to help reposition the BRI. First, China should invite some other key Asian countries to feel empowered to influence the path of the initiative. A seemingly radical idea would be to encourage India to influence the next stage. Whenever I have discussed this idea with seasoned Asia watchers, they think I am either joking or very naive, due to the two countries' tricky historical relationship. An undiplomatic response might be, "If China can't really engage India, then the whole project can't really be serious." After all, China and India are immediate neighbors, part of the same BRIC political small club, and the only countries in the world with billion-plus populations. If the BRI is truly ambitious, then it requires serious ambition.

    Second, why not invite some non-Chinese expert entities to devise a code of best practices for BRI project financing that would guide how infrastructure projects might be financed? Such an approach might even help improve the operational efficiency of Chinese companies.

    Third, China should seek a group of trusted helpful countries, possibly involving the most advanced countries such as the United Kingdom, to help with these two ideas and maybe others. An even more radical idea might be to invite the United States to be such a trusted ally as part of some truly ambitious trade deal. Apart from anything else, it would demonstrate to the US that the BRI is not about China trying to impose its will on the world.

    What is for sure is that the underlying ambition of the BRI concept is so ambitious, it requires equally ambitious tactics to ensure its success.

    The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

    Most Viewed in 24 Hours
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    亚洲精品无码乱码成人| 日韩av无码中文字幕| 亚洲AV中文无码乱人伦在线观看| 国产在线无码精品电影网| 无码国模国产在线无码精品国产自在久国产| 中文字幕视频免费| 国产精品99无码一区二区| 久久久久亚洲AV片无码下载蜜桃| 亚洲精品无码永久在线观看| 亚洲AV无码一区二区乱子伦| 中文字幕手机在线视频| 无码精品人妻一区二区三区免费| 亚洲AV无码专区国产乱码4SE| 一本大道香蕉中文日本不卡高清二区| 国产日韩精品中文字无码| 亚洲日韩乱码中文无码蜜桃臀网站| 亚洲中文字幕无码久久综合网| 99久久人妻无码精品系列蜜桃| 亚洲人成网亚洲欧洲无码久久| 最近高清中文字幕免费| 中文字幕无码AV波多野吉衣| yy111111电影院少妇影院无码| 亚洲av无码一区二区三区网站| 中文字幕无码高清晰 | 中文字幕亚洲欧美专区| 国产乱子伦精品无码码专区| 亚洲日韩av无码| 高潮潮喷奶水飞溅视频无码| 麻豆国产精品无码视频| 最近中文字幕免费完整| 亚洲制服中文字幕第一区| 久热中文字幕无码视频 | 成人午夜福利免费无码视频| 无码国产精品一区二区免费16 | 亚洲AV无码专区电影在线观看 | 国产精品一区二区久久精品无码 | 麻豆亚洲AV永久无码精品久久| 亚洲国产成人片在线观看无码| 亚洲中文字幕无码一久久区| 亚洲中文字幕无码一区| 无码国产午夜福利片在线观看|