Leaders and senior officials from 100 countries have taken time out from ruling their part of the world to attend one of the biggest diplomatic events of the year - a summit to rebuild a new Silk Road, which, if successful, could not only ignite but change the blueprint of the world economy.
China formally calls it “One Belt and One Road”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will open the Belt and Road Forum for International Co-operation which will be held in Beijing today and tomorrow.
He has championed the new Silk Road linking Asia, Africa and Europe since 2013. It is a landmark programme to invest billions of rands in infrastructure projects including railways, highways, pipelines, ports and power grids in signatory countries. The plan to revive the old maritime Silk Road is ambitious to say the least. But Beijing has put its money where its mouth and committed billions of dollars to the initiative.
Zhao Kejin, an associate professor at the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University, said that China had created an action plan involving an area which covered 55% of the world’s GDP, 70% of the global population and 75% of known energy reserves.
Some of the funds have been have been channelled into a Silk Road Fund (US$40bn) and the idea was behind the establishment of the $50bn China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and US$10bn billion to the Brics-led New Development Bank.
Kejin said this was an initial investment and the initiative would be crowd-funded, so to speak, by member countries and the private sector.
The scheme has not been clearly defined, hence the importance of the forum, so all those involved could begin to thrash out critical issues. Kejin believes the key to the initiative’s success is “a shared future and a shared responsibility”.
China’s invitation has no geographical limits. Africa has an important role to play in the much-touted plan. South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia have jumped on the Belt and Road bandwagon. Other African countries should get in on the deal too, as it wields plenty of financial muscle and promises to boost member countries’ growth and economies.
However, China has its detractors and the scheme has been met with a cool reception from Western capitals.
Although the Chinese government ensures its intentions are benign and for the proponent of globalisation.
Western countries have raised concerns about a lack of detail and transparency in the project and are suspicious about China’s broader political intentions.
Observers believe this is China’s strategy to outwit its opponents and move into a dominant position as a world power.
China argues that its plans are genuine and an effort to share its bounty in the face of growing protectionism as the US retreats and populism in Europe. China’s overcapacity is becoming clear as domestic demand wanes and it looks for measures to stimulate its slowing economy.
There is much work to be done to get the grand scheme off the ground. Diplomatic ties between certain member countries are fraught, infrastructure in countries along the routes vary from adequate to poor and political security in others regions are dubious.
But if there is a country that can pull off this mammoth task, then it is the People’s Republic of China. There path to the ranks of second largest economy in the world is no small feat. So for developing countries this strategy may well be a boon and to the likes of the US, I guess it’s checkmate.
Melanie Peters is the Live Editor of Weekend Argus. She is on a 10-month scholarship with the China Africa Press Centre. Instagram:
mels_chines_takeout