April 12, 2018
Will China’s New Trade/Debt Diplomacy Strategy Reshape The World?
China’s vision is unlikely to become the world’s vision.
The nationalistic China Dream represents the ambitious choreography of the Chinese Communist Party. Sino-centrism is apparent in the original formulation of “One Belt, One Road,” a phrase subsequently replaced after it became apparent that other actors might want a voice in determining their destinies. The more ambiguous “Belt and Road Initiative” still appears a means by which China may dominate twenty first-century global supply chains by leveraging its advantages in foreign exchange reserves and surplus industrial capacity.
The Belt and Road Initiative also needs to be placed in a strategic and not just economic context. Xi Jinping may tout infrastructure to attract others to rally behind Beijing, but his open quest for military modernization will repel many worried about China’s future intentions. Small countries whose leaders are subject to foreign influence may buy into long-term indebtedness and foreign policy bandwagoning. But most sovereign states will wish to hedge their future security through economic diversification
and networked security.
Read the full article at International Economy
More from CNAS
-
China to Play Significant Role in Helping Iran Rebuild: Analyst
Video
Richard Fontaine, CEO at Center for a New American Security, says China will help Iran rebuild due to its close economic relationship, and because Iran can be used to contain ...
By Richard Fontaine
-
Repairing the Breach
Reports
U.S.-India relations stumbled badly during the second half of 2025. Differences between U.S. and Indian officials over how a ceasefire was reached between New Delhi and Islama...
By Lisa Curtis, Keerthi Martyn & Sitara Gupta
-
Video
Indo-Pacific Security / Middle East Security
Iran U.S. War Latest Updates | ‘U.S., Israel Making Gains’: Lisa Curtis On Week 3 of Iran WarThree weeks into the Iran conflict, Lisa Curtis, senior fellow and program director at the Center for a New American Security, says the United States and Israel are making tac...
By Lisa Curtis
-
Reports
Defense / Indo-Pacific Security
U.S.-Japan-Philippines Trilateral CooperationExecutive Summary Growing challenges from the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) massive military modernization, rapid technological advancement, and coercive military activ...
By Lisa Curtis & Ryan Claffey
