Economic Diplomacy to Protect and Pursue Economic Interests: China's Belt and Road Initiative

The China Belt and Road Initiative is an initiative launched in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping. This initiative is an initiative to rebuild the ancient Silk Road, calling it the 21st Century Silk Road. Apart from trying to revive the Silk Road in the 21st century, this initiative also tries to create a maritime route similar to that of the Silk Road.

The Silk Road and Maritime Route will connect China with Europe and the countries in between. This will all be achieved through infrastructure projects that will further connect China with countries that pass through China's Belt and Road. This project is very ambitious because this project will be participated by 65 countries and affect 62% of the world's population. The Belt and Road Initiative is the most ambitious example of economic statecraft. This initiative will later create an extensive network of railroads, energy pipelines, roads, and crossings between national borders. To achieve this project, China developed its bank institution to finance this project. Countries that receive this project will later be given a loan by a Chinese bank to fund infrastructure projects that will be carried out in their country.

The Interests of China's Political Economy and Strategy

There has been much analysis of this Belt and Road Initiative project's rationale. This analysis is inseparable from China's geostrategic political and economic interests. From a political dimension, the Belt and Road Initiative is seen as an attempt by China to be more assertive in its role to become a structural force. An increasingly interconnected world system increases needs and is also enforced by rules, norms, regimes, and institutions. In a world system like this, the strategy of using power changes from military capacity to injure to the creation and manipulation of a system. With this Belt and Road Initiative that will cover more than 65 countries, China will have the opportunity to emerge as a structural force that can create new systems and manipulate those systems to conform to the norms, regulations, institutions, and regimes created by them. This will also further displace the United States' power, which is seen as a rival by China itself.

Apart from political interests, the Belt and Road Initiative is also driven by economic interests. The Belt and Road Initiative will later expand the use of Chinese currency. Apart from promoting their currency, this initiative also will promote economic development in their Western province, Xinjiang. Chinese officials have also used this initiative to restructure their economy to avoid a middle-income trap, a scenario that has affected 90% of middle-income countries since 1960, where salaries and quality of life have increased, but the country has struggled to shift its focus to producing goods. And services of higher value.

Apart from this, China's Belt and Road Initiative will also deepen China's integration with Belt and Road Initiative countries and also increase trade facilitation between China and these countries.

In conclusion,

China's Belt and Road Initiative has multiple interpretations and analyzes. However, what is certain is that China's Belt and Road Initiative is China's policy to pursue its economic interests. These economic interests take many forms, from promoting the Chinese currency, building their economy, or restructuring their economy. These economic interests are inseparable from China's Belt and Road Initiative's political dimensions, but how this project will later elevate China's position in international politics, giving China the opportunity to create new systems and norms. The Belt and Road Initiative, which is driven by economic and political interests, is carried out using economic diplomacy instruments. Making the Belt and Road Initiative is an example of how a country pursues and protects its economic interests using economic diplomacy.

However, it is possible that the BRI project still has a chance to reach its full growth potential in the future. The BRI project could help partners country in the infrastructure sector and other vital sectors. European groups are still interest and willing to deepen their ties with China. This is an opportunity for China to expand its market in the future. Although, there will be barriers from the US that slightly hinder diplomatic relations with partner countries.

Nonetheless, all of these things can be solved with a better BRI project concept. A new concept that is greener, transparent, and dynamic is needed. Due to the global pandemic, evaluating a new and more diverse global situation becomes the most significant challenge that can become a great opportunity. The global pandemic could also provide an avenue for the BRI project to reorganize sustainable development. This is due to market uncertainty which has led to a reduction in the issuance of green bonds. For China and the countries involved, they need to embrace the realities of the power relations stakeholder in the BRI project. They also need to analyze power and politics and determine the boundaries and rights of each country related.

Therefore countries need to be proactive and should determine how to derive maximum benefits from the BRI for its economic development. To do so, a coherent, coordinated, and complementary strategy based on national development goals, reflecting the comparative advantages of different development partners, needs to be put in place.