The 21st century has seen major shifts in the international balance of forces. The emergence of new economic power houses has moulded these shifts. Multipolarity is slowly but steadily emerging as a hallmark of new international relations. Asia, particularly South East Asia has made important gains on the road to economic progress. China has clearly... Continue Reading →
BRI intends to utilize Xinjiang's crucial geographical position facilitating the institutionalization of the region as a connectivity corridor. The Xinjiang government has issued a new transportation development plan (2016-2030) to become vital transportation, trade, logistics, culture, science, and education center and a core area on the Silk Road Economic Belt. This complex trade interconnectivity eventually... Continue Reading →
When two powerful nations set sight on the economic development of the same geographic space, this would ordinarily be cause for significant concern in global affairs. Yet in the Arctic, Russian development of the maritime corridor called the Northern Sea Route and China’s pursuit of their Belt and Road Initiative, including the northern Polar Silk... Continue Reading →
The initiative of the Greater Eurasian Partnership (GEP) was declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December 2015 in the message for the Federal Assembly. The President told about necessity to establish an economic partnership between member-states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the ASEAN. The term “Greater Eurasian... Continue Reading →
In 2017, the PRC Ministry of Agriculture, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Commerce jointly released policy guidance for a new issue stream within the Belt and Road Initative (BRI) framework: the “Visions and Actions Plan on Jointly Promoting Agricultural Cooperation on the Belt and Road.” Much of... Continue Reading →
Within the framework of the IRES conference, we will discuss the results of the first stage of the research project, conducted at the School of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University. The key question is – What ideas lie at the heart of Chinese experts' debates about the EAEU-BRI conjunction? Research tasks are: -... Continue Reading →
Many contemporary ideas and projects on transcultural networks are often build on the grand myths and narratives of pathways—overland and maritime trade routes that connect people and places through commercial, social, religious, and knowledge transactions. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a multilevel ambitious platform sponsored by the Chinese Government is a classic example of... Continue Reading →
Much of the debate on the controversies surrounding BRI is centered around two questions. Is the BRI a grand strategy to advance China’s global strategic interests? Or is it, as the Chinese government itself presents it, a win-win initiative for global peace and development? A second related question concerns the practical consequences of BRI. China... Continue Reading →
Ideology plays a role in a country’s overall development. What are most clear have been over the past decades the differences between socialist and capitalist countries. China has been, however, a mix of both: socialism with Chinese characteristics, or rather capitalism with Chinese characteristics. Admittedly there’re factors of ideology. But what often understated or missed... Continue Reading →
Eurasia in the narrow view, the former post-Soviet space, in which the institutions that emerged in the previous era continue to function. Attempts to reintegrate fragments of the former Soviet space in various forms. Why Belt Road as an Initiative causes positive reactions from the post-Soviet elites at the same time is more attractive from... Continue Reading →
