Strengthening ties crucial to realizing benefits of 鈥極ne Belt, One Road鈥 initiative
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A SERIES of planned investments by domestic financial institutions have drawn our attention to China鈥檚 bid to revive the ancient Silk Road.
For starters, a consortium of banks and trust funds from the CITIC Group, a major state-owned financial conglomerate, will reportedly invest more than 700 billion yuan (US$113 billion) into projects related to China鈥檚 much-vaunted 鈥淥ne Belt, One Road鈥 initiative.
Touted as a cornerstone of central government policy, this multi-pronged initiative 鈥 with the 鈥渂elt鈥 and the 鈥渞oad鈥 serving as shorthand for the 鈥淪ilk Road Economic Belt鈥 and 鈥渢he 21st Century Maritime Silk Road鈥 respectively 鈥 aims to boost connectivity, trade, capital flows and economic integration between China, South East Asia, Eurasia and Europe.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 unique about this initiative is not just its geographic impact or its huge economic promise,鈥 Khaled Fathy Aly Youssef, consul general of Egypt, said recently in Shanghai.
Speaking at a forum held by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Youssef claimed that 鈥渨hat really distinguishes the 鈥極ne Belt, One Road鈥 initiative is the extent to which it will unite the global markets.鈥
This strategy, he added, is now gaining greater attention thanks to the key concept behind it: mutual growth and the prioritization of market cooperation.
Mutual growth
Mutual growth is indeed at the heart of the initiative if it is to succeed, said Ozcan Sahin, consul general of Turkey in Shanghai, who described it as a truly 鈥渃ontinental鈥 project 鈥 one which encompasses 65 countries, 4.4 billion people and represents US$21 trillion of global GDP. Sahin pointed out that both China and the countries involved in the 鈥淥ne Belt, One Road鈥 initiative stand to profit enormously from the strategy.
For China, better economic linkages with the rest of the region will mean increased competitiveness for Chinese companies, especially those specializing in infrastructure construction, as they expect to find an outlet for their excess capacity outside of China amid a domestic economic slowdown, said Sahin.
Financially, the potential financial benefits of the initiative are enormous.
The yuan-swap deals which 鈥淥ne Road, One Belt鈥 projects are expected to usher in will in all likelihood elevate the Chinese currency鈥檚 global profile.
Benefits are also myriad for countries within the scope of the 鈥淥ne Belt, One Road鈥 initiative, as they stand to both gain more favorable terms when it comes to building badly-needed infrastructure and also obtain easier access to the Chinese market. Meanwhile, an increase in payments and trade settlements in the yuan will lead to less dependence on the US dollar, said Sahin.
Of course, achieving this initiative requires the united efforts of participating countries, who will need to address thorny issues related to inter-regional differences, a natural product of the disparities and conditions which exist within the countries that surround China.
Sister cities
Stefano Beltrame, consul general of Italy in Shanghai, suggested that given China鈥檚 size, 鈥渨e Europeans used to think dealing with China is very complicated.鈥
Since good-will projects often take time to wind their way through foreign policy procedures 鈥 often causing undesirable delays or snags along the way 鈥 Beltrame believes that public diplomacy can thrive where official diplomacy cannot deliver. Instead of relying on government-to-government relations only 鈥 say, between Beijing and Rome 鈥 perhaps scaling down communications to the local level could prove useful, Beltrame said.
Sahin concurred, and pointed to the multitude of sister city relationships Shanghai has established over the years, which he sees as instrumental in leveraging overseas good-will toward China and its people.
He noted, however, that 鈥渢he sister city relationship is a good catchphrase, but you need to put in certain schemes and projects to make that meaningful.鈥
The Pakistani port city of Karachi, for example, is now celebrating the 31st anniversary of its sister city relationship with Shanghai. Apart from a number of student exchange programs and the establishment of academic research centers in each other鈥檚 top universities, public diplomacy between China and Pakistan needs to advance and diversify, Farhat Ayesha, acting consul general of Pakistan in Shanghai, told the forum.
In her opinion, such forms might include more air-time for specific TV programs of the 鈥淥ne Road, One Belt鈥 countries, because they can 鈥済o softly into the minds of the Chinese people and create a better understanding of their social values and norms,鈥 Ayesha noted.
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