CHINA’S “ONE BELT, ONE ROAD” INITIATIVE AND ITS IMPACT IN CENTRAL ASIA
A few years ago, a trio of competing multilateral infrastructure development projects sought to advance economic interconnectedness in CA, Washington proposed a “New Silk Road Initiative” to connect Central Asian states amongst themselves and with Afghanistan. Moscow, meanwhile, launched the Eurasia...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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National Academy of Sciences of Armenia
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Banber Arevelagitut'yan Instituti |
| Online Access: | http://www.orientcpnme.am/media/attachments/23/23__2021-05-26-07-05-58.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811176929155350528 |
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| author | Harutyunyan Aghavni |
| author_facet | Harutyunyan Aghavni |
| author_sort | Harutyunyan Aghavni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A few years ago, a trio of competing multilateral infrastructure development projects sought to advance economic interconnectedness in CA, Washington proposed a “New Silk Road Initiative” to connect Central Asian states amongst themselves and with Afghanistan. Moscow, meanwhile, launched the Eurasian Union, which was to serve, as Vladimir Putin said, as the foundation of a new “epoch” for the post-Soviet states. And China, in 2013, announced plans for its SREB, expanding railways and, most especially, energy pipeline networks in the region.
Chinese analysts pointed out that compared with the Russian EAU and American NSRI, Chinese SREB is a multi-vector project that extends to the East, West, North and South and connects the Central, East, South and West Asia in different ways of economic cooperation. SREB reflects an inclusive development of China, and China’s policy of "general development of western regions" is an important step to integrate the Chinese and CA’s economies. Increasing Chinese economic engagement offers CA countries an opportunity to diversify their economic relations, and stability has been a key concern for the Chinese government in its relations with CA.
Both initiatives, Russian-led EAU and USA’s New Silk Road Initiative, are discussed within China’s policy circles and China views the Russia-led EEU as far less of a threat. While China and Russia have clear economic incentives to cooperate in this region in the short term, they will need to overcome a number of hurdles to set their partnership on a path that can be sustained further into the future. It will be a victory for China’s Good Neighbor Policy as Beijing prioritizes constructive relations with Moscow and its Eurasian neighbors.
While China has gone to great lengths to frame its initiatives in cooperative non-exclusionary terms and to emphasize its openness to a wide range of stakeholders, it also clearly intends to further establish itself as a central actor in regional affairs. China’s return to CA as an economic force satisfies both premises, signaling that China has fully regained its old status as the world’s premier economic power under its new leadership. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T19:59:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fe57174b6b1442a18b17a630f2d522eb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2738-2710 2738-2702 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T19:59:53Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | National Academy of Sciences of Armenia |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Banber Arevelagitut'yan Instituti |
| spelling | doaj.art-fe57174b6b1442a18b17a630f2d522eb2023-01-27T09:56:19ZengNational Academy of Sciences of ArmeniaBanber Arevelagitut'yan Instituti2738-27102738-27022019-01-0132128432110.52837/18291422-2019.32a-284CHINA’S “ONE BELT, ONE ROAD” INITIATIVE AND ITS IMPACT IN CENTRAL ASIAHarutyunyan AghavniA few years ago, a trio of competing multilateral infrastructure development projects sought to advance economic interconnectedness in CA, Washington proposed a “New Silk Road Initiative” to connect Central Asian states amongst themselves and with Afghanistan. Moscow, meanwhile, launched the Eurasian Union, which was to serve, as Vladimir Putin said, as the foundation of a new “epoch” for the post-Soviet states. And China, in 2013, announced plans for its SREB, expanding railways and, most especially, energy pipeline networks in the region. Chinese analysts pointed out that compared with the Russian EAU and American NSRI, Chinese SREB is a multi-vector project that extends to the East, West, North and South and connects the Central, East, South and West Asia in different ways of economic cooperation. SREB reflects an inclusive development of China, and China’s policy of "general development of western regions" is an important step to integrate the Chinese and CA’s economies. Increasing Chinese economic engagement offers CA countries an opportunity to diversify their economic relations, and stability has been a key concern for the Chinese government in its relations with CA. Both initiatives, Russian-led EAU and USA’s New Silk Road Initiative, are discussed within China’s policy circles and China views the Russia-led EEU as far less of a threat. While China and Russia have clear economic incentives to cooperate in this region in the short term, they will need to overcome a number of hurdles to set their partnership on a path that can be sustained further into the future. It will be a victory for China’s Good Neighbor Policy as Beijing prioritizes constructive relations with Moscow and its Eurasian neighbors. While China has gone to great lengths to frame its initiatives in cooperative non-exclusionary terms and to emphasize its openness to a wide range of stakeholders, it also clearly intends to further establish itself as a central actor in regional affairs. China’s return to CA as an economic force satisfies both premises, signaling that China has fully regained its old status as the world’s premier economic power under its new leadership.http://www.orientcpnme.am/media/attachments/23/23__2021-05-26-07-05-58.pdf |
| spellingShingle | Harutyunyan Aghavni CHINA’S “ONE BELT, ONE ROAD” INITIATIVE AND ITS IMPACT IN CENTRAL ASIA Banber Arevelagitut'yan Instituti |
| title | CHINA’S “ONE BELT, ONE ROAD” INITIATIVE AND ITS IMPACT IN CENTRAL ASIA |
| title_full | CHINA’S “ONE BELT, ONE ROAD” INITIATIVE AND ITS IMPACT IN CENTRAL ASIA |
| title_fullStr | CHINA’S “ONE BELT, ONE ROAD” INITIATIVE AND ITS IMPACT IN CENTRAL ASIA |
| title_full_unstemmed | CHINA’S “ONE BELT, ONE ROAD” INITIATIVE AND ITS IMPACT IN CENTRAL ASIA |
| title_short | CHINA’S “ONE BELT, ONE ROAD” INITIATIVE AND ITS IMPACT IN CENTRAL ASIA |
| title_sort | china s one belt one road initiative and its impact in central asia |
| url | http://www.orientcpnme.am/media/attachments/23/23__2021-05-26-07-05-58.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT harutyunyanaghavni chinasonebeltoneroadinitiativeanditsimpactincentralasia |