China’s ‘Belt & Road’: a new era of global economic leadership?

Published on May 31, 2018   24 min

Other Talks in the Series: China’s Belt and Road Initiative

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Thank you for tuning into this presentation on China's 'Belt and Road' initiative, a new era of global economic leadership. My name is Frances Schortgen an and I'm presently an associate professor and chair of the Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio in the United States.
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In this presentation I aim not so much to provide a definitive answer to the question of whether or not China's 'Belt and Road Initiative' (which I shall refer to from here on out simply as the BRI) is ushering in a new era of global economic leadership, as to offer a broad contextual frame of reference that is useful for a more concrete analysis down the road. To do so, I will proceed as follows: I will open with an intriguing question, is the BRI, when viewed in comparative perspective, possibly the project of the century? If so, what might add imply economically, politically, and strategically? Building on that we will then shift into a brief historical overview of the shifting dynamics of global wealth and power. The trends outlined herein and supported by a diverse range of studies help us to better contextualize the nature, scope, and importance of the BRI. To fully appreciate the significance of the BRI however, it is also important to frame it in the context of China's rise, which will constitute the third aspect of this presentation. Next, we will further expand the contextualization of BRI launch with a brief reference to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, before proceeding with a more focused evaluation of the underlying motivations of BRI. In other words, should it be viewed as an exclusively geoeconomic initiative, or does China intend to use it as a vehicle to pursue broader geopolitical and/or geostrategic goals? Finally, we shall conclude with a few observations and thoughts about China's overall geoeconomic vision and how and to what extent the BRI fits into that vision.

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China’s ‘Belt & Road’: a new era of global economic leadership?

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