CHINA’S “NEW SILK ROAD” DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

DIMITRIJEVIĆ Duško (Ph.D, Professorial Fellow, Institute of International Politics and Economics, Belgrade), dimitrijevicd@diplomacy.bg.ac.rs
JOKANOVIĆ Nikola (LLM in International Relations. China Foreign Affairs University, Beijing. Ph.D. Student, Faculty of Security Studies University of Belgrade), nikola.jokanovic@gmail.com

China’s tremendous economic development has made China an increasingly attractive economic partner in the first and second decade of the 21st century. During this period, the ancient Silk Road trade route became attractive once again; today, it is a symbol for trade and investment involving China, Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. China’s “New Silk Road” development strategy consist of two geopolitical initiatives – one of them is the “Silk Road Economic Belt”, with stronger ties with Central Asia (and special focus on trade and transport) as a goal; the other is known as the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road”, and it is an attempt to improve trade relations with South and Southeast Asia. The authors argue that Belt and Road Initiatives bear political and economic consequences. They could bring about better political understanding and economic benefits for all participants. However, both initiatives will have consequences on the US’ dominance in international relations. While there are condemnations of the two initiatives, some parts of the EU (especially the Central and Eastern European countries) and ASEAN have high expectations from these initiatives. A successful fruit-bearing of these initiatives in the following ten years should thus ease the opponents’ concerns. To use China’s favourite foreign policy catchphrase, it is a “win-win” situation – China can achieve a softer image for itself while increasing its regional influence.

Keywords: New Silk Road, Maritime Silk Road, Silk Road Economic Belt, China, EU, ASEAN