CHINA'S MANIFESTATION OF "GEO-ECONOMICS" and BRI CHINA

Today, I'm sharing the BRI and Chinese geo economics article. 

CHINA'S MANIFESTATION OF "GEO-ECONOMICS" and BRI CHINA have transformed the nature of international relations in the 21st century. In an unprecedented amount of time, China has become the world's second largest economy and is exerting a form of "geo-economics" influence.

China has attracted so much international attention thanks to this remarkable achievement that actors on the international stage are curious about what the Chinese leadership intends to do with its growing economic leverage and power.

One of the most important manifestations of China's intention to reestablish the fabled "Silk Route," which has historically played a significant role in China's long-standing economic significance in Asia, is the Belt & Road Initiative.

It is not a coincidence that China's leaders, particularly Xi Jinping, have been discussing this possibility, which may include direct and indirect sources of influence, in the context of long-term economic restructuring, an expanding material geo-economics influence, and the development of a more self-confident and externally oriented policy agenda.

BRI is a global initiative with a primary focus on Asia, Eastern Europe, Eastern Africa, and the Middle East—a region of great significance in terms of emerging markets—that is a transcontinental long-term policy and investment program that aims to accelerate the economic integration of countries along the historic Silk Road.

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled the Belt & Road Initiative, which was initially known as One Belt, One Road until 2016.

As of March 2022, 146 nations and 32 international organizations had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to participate in the Initiative, representing more than a third of the world's GDP and two-thirds of the world's population.

Policy coordination, infrastructure, trade, financial integration, and people-to-people cooperation were the five main objectives of BRI's official launch.

Through the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st century, China is developing a framework for inclusive, mutually open, balanced, and valuable economic cooperation with the goal of regional integration and connectivity.

Eight whimsical trade routes were central to Beijing's ambitions for trade connectivity during the early years of the BRI: The "Silk Road Economic Belt" consists of six land-based economic corridors and the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" consists of two maritime trade routes.

The departments of the Chinese government: The "Vision and Actions" agenda of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) established the action plans for these BRI trade routes in 2015.

The "Silk Road Economic Belt" (SREB) and the "Maritime Silk Road" (MSR) are the two main components of the BRI.

SREB, on the other hand, intends to re-establish and modernize traditional overland connections with Central and South Asia, connecting them to both China itself and ultimately to Europe. In contrast, MSR is designed primarily to effectively link and integrate the maritime states of Southeast and South Asia in particular.

BRI includes efforts to strengthen hard and soft infrastructure, cultural ties, and new and old projects across a broad geographic area.

It envisions an integrated network of roads, railways, and ports, which will help cement China's position as the center of economic activity in a lot of Asia and Europe.

The economic downturn in response to the 2008 global financial crisis in the West served as the initial impetus for BRI. This presented China with a significant opportunity to lead the way in global economic development by attracting additional nations into its economic orbit.

As a result, BRI has helped Beijing achieve its geopolitical and geoeconomic goals by increasing China's global influence since its launch in 2013.

By offering loans, investments, and summits while avoiding confrontation with the United States, Beijing initially sought to simply strengthen its ties with foreign governments and establish itself as one of their key economic partners.

As a result, China engaged diplomatically with countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa—regions in which the United States was less politically involved—and the economic corridors that are at the heart of the BRI mostly pass through these areas. The best illustration of Beijing's approach is the Pakistani economic corridor.

In addition to serving as an economic corridor or transit route for the Chinese market, Pakistan's CPEC megaproject, which is the primary BRI in Pakistan, includes the improvement of Gwadar Port, which is the most operational port in terms of oil and gas shipping lanes, industrialization, and energy projects.

In addition, a number of special economic zones are being proposed along a 2700-kilometer route from Kashgar, China's westernmost city, through central Pakistan to Gwadar port on Pakistan's southwest coast. The projects primarily aim to improve Pakistan's economic performance and establish Pakistan as a regional economic hub.

The expansion of China's export markets, the reduction of trade frictions such as tariffs and transportation costs, and the promotion of the Renminbi (RMB) as an international currency are just a few examples of how the BRI has the full potential to achieve significant economic and political gains for China. Many of these gains have been explicitly acknowledged in China's official policy communiqué.

China has been able to transition from a grand strategy that merely sought its economic goals to one that allows it to leverage its growing economic power to achieve unattainable foreign policy goals thanks to its growing economic stature.

The rise of China's economy has also given China's leaders, and Xi in particular, much more power.

It is widely supported by the PRC leadership and the population as a whole, and Chinese leaders are eager to make use of it to reclaim their former dominance in international diplomacy and great power politics, particularly in the region.

It is impossible to deny that China's growing power and expanded geoeconomic influence are enabling it to achieve these goals much more quickly than they were a decade ago.

Although it is impossible to accurately assess BRI's predicable implications and outcomes, its potential course is already becoming apparent.

China has the state capacity and practical experience necessary to carry out such a project.

It possesses both the essential agencies, such as the National Development and Reform Commission (NRDC), and the material resources necessary to successfully implement particular BRI components.

Therefore, it is essential to emphasize that Beijing and its development agencies continue to play a significant role in the overall coordination of economic development while projecting soft power in the form of geo-economics, despite the transition to a more market-oriented economy.