The Belt and Road Initiative: A Pathway towards Inclusive Globalization

189 Pages·2019·30.827 MB·English

by  Weidong Liu, Wu Qiaofang

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The Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative (hereafter BRI) of China has attracted world-
wide attention and participation, causing a lot of debate over its implications
for international society. Although it is still in a budding stage, the BRI seems
to afford a framework for an increasing number of countries to explore jointly
new international economic governance mechanisms and offer significant
opportunities for them to cope jointly with global challenges. Taking a glo-
balization perspective and tracking the ancient silk roads, this book tries to
examine the general context in which the BRI is raised and implemented,
arguing that this Chinese initiative, instead of replacing existing international
cooperation mechanisms, is a call for the reform and development of neo-
liberal globalization and will open up a new era of inclusive globalization.
Inclusive globalization is neither an overturning nor a simple continuation
of neoliberal globalization but rather a proposal capable of addressing the
problems of existing globalization. The difference between them lies in the
fact that globalization cannot only serve the “spatial fix” of capital but also
has to meet the needs of living people. The book also addresses a number of
major issues on building the Belt and Road and contains Chinese media’s
interviews with the author on various BRI issues. Given the author has been
intensively involved in the study of and planning for the BRI, the book offers
a valuable academic insight into this Chinese initiative.
Weidong Liu is a professor in Economic Geography at the Institute of
Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy
of Sciences. His research interests include regional development and regional
policy, foreign direct investment (FDI), multinational corporations (MNCs),
Global Production Network (GPN), the automobile industry, and the Belt and
Road Initiative of China. His previous publications include The Geographical
Transformation of China (Routledge, 2015).
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China Perspectives

The China Perspectives series focuses on translating and publishing works
by leading Chinese scholars, writing about both global topics and China-
related themes. It covers Humanities & Social Sciences, Education, Media
and Psychology, as well as many interdisciplinary themes.
This is the first time any of these books have been published in English
for international readers. The series aims to put forward a Chinese perspec-
tive, give insights into cutting-e dge academic thinking in China, and inspire
researchers globally.
Titles on economics include:
The Belt and Road Initiative
A Pathway towards Inclusive Globalization
Weidong Liu
Regulating Effect of Tax on Chinese National Income Distribution
GUO Qingwang, LV Bingyang, YUE Ximing
Internationalization of the RMB
Establishment and Development of RMB Offshore Markets
International Monetary Institute of the RUC
Chinese Macroeconomic Operation
Liu Shucheng
The Chinese Path to Economic Dual Transformation
Li Yining
Hyperinflation
A World History
Liping He
For more information, please visit www.routledge.com/ series/ CPH
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The Belt and Road Initiative

A Pathway towards Inclusive
Globalization
Weidong Liu
iv
This book is published with financial support from the Chinese Fund
for the Humanities and Social Sciences
First published in English 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Weidong Liu
Translated by Wu Qiaofang 伍巧芳, polished by Michael Dunford
The right of Weidong Liu to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by
him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
English version by permission of The Commercial Press.
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978- 1- 138- 33160- 0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 0- 429- 44722- 8 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Newgen Publishing UK
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Contents

List of figures vi

List of tables viii

Acknowledgments ix

Preface xi

1 The Silk Road and the Silk Road Spirit 1

2 Economic globalization and its limitations 19

3 General context of the Belt and Road Initiative 42

4 Understanding the Belt and Road Initiative 60

5 Issues on how to build the Belt and Road 73

Appendix 1: Relevant essays 85

Appendix 2: Relevant interviews 134

References 164

Index 167
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Figures

1.1 Ancient Silk Road in the Han dynasty 8
1.2 Ancient Silk Road in the Tang and Song dynasties 12
1.3 Ancient Silk Road in the Yuan and Ming dynasties 14
2.1 Proportion of world trade in world GDP from 1870 to 1938 24
2.2 Proportion of foreign direct investment in world GDP from
1870 to 1995 24
2.3 World GDP growth rate and export growth rate 33
2.4 World GDP and export growth 34
2.5 Growth of exports and foreign direct investment in the world 35
2.6 Five continents’ share of world’s total GDP from 1980 to 2013 38
3.1 Distribution of GDP in major countries 44
3.2 Distribution of export size in major countries 45
3.3 Changes in the world economic landscape (1700– 1950) 46
3.4 Changes in the proportion of China’s total economic output
(GDP) accounting for the world’s total from 1700 to 2015 47
3.5 Schematic diagram of the world structure 48
3.6 Growth trends of China’s energy consumption and carbon
emissions from 1990 to 2015 50
3.7 Export and foreign investment growth of China from
2002 to 2015 51
3.8 Export and foreign investment growth of advanced
economies from 1985 to 2000 52
3.9 Growth rate of China’s foreign trade, foreign investment, and
foreign direct investment from 1990 to 2014 54
3.10 Growth index of China’s foreign trade, attracted foreign
investment, and foreign direct investment from 1990 to 2014 54
A.1 Changes in the world economic landscape (1700– 1950) 89
A.2 Changes in the proportion of China’s total economic output
(GDP) accounting for the world’s total from 1750 to 2013 90
A.3 Export and foreign investment growth of China 91
A.4 Export and foreign investment growth of advanced economies 92
A.5 Distribution of GDP in major countries 109
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Figures vii
A.6 Changes in the proportion of China’s total economic output
(GDP) accounting for the world’s total 110
A.7 Evolution of capital mobility 120
A.8 World economic growth (three- year moving averages,
1961– 2016) 123
viii
Tables

2.1 Share (%) of major industrial countries in world industry and
world trade from 1820 to 1870 22
2.2 Important international economic organizations and
institutional framework agreements after the war 26
A.1 Share of major industrialized countries in world industrial
production and trade, 1820– 1870 (%) 119
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Acknowledgments

The author, Weidong Liu, acknowledges the support of the Chinese Academy
of Sciences (XDA20010100) and the China National Natural Science
Foundation (41530751) for the research related to the book, and wishes to
extend special thanks to Michael Dunford for his help with the editing of the
English of the translated manuscript. However, the author remains respon-
sible for any errors in the book.