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-EAEU Conjugation in the Recent Russian Interaction with China
Igor Denisov To understand Russia's current views on China’s Belt and Road, first of all, we need to comprehend the background of "conjugation" between BRI and the Russia-initiated Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which was first mentioned in the joint Russian-Chinese statement of 2015. While defining Moscow's response to BRI, the Russian side was considering the... Continue Reading →
China’s 16+1 Mechanism: From High Expectations to Growing Disappointments in Europe
Alfred Gerst (Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic) After the establishment of the 16+1 cooperation format in 2012 and in particular after the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, the European participants had highly optimistic expectations regarding the economic exchange with China. 16+1 is a Chinese initiative bringing together 16 Central Eastern European... Continue Reading →
The domestic–foreign nexus behind China’s mask diplomacy in Central and Eastern Europe
Bartosz Kowalski Since March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, China has become the key country in the dispersal of strategically important medical supplies, transferred both in the form of donations and regular commercial transactions. Thus, until the first wave of the pandemic in Europe was largely curbed and medical supplies stocked up,... Continue Reading →
BRI: Neutralizing Xinjiang and Legitimizing Stability-Security Paradigm
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 →
Overlapping of Strategic Interests: The Northern Sea Route and the Polar Silk Road
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 Greater Eurasian Partnership: New opportunities for interaction between the BRI and the ASEAN
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 →
The Agricultural Belt and Road: New Geo-Political and Resource Landscapes?
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 →
China’s debates about the EAEU-BRI conjunction
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 →
The Belt and Road Initiative: A New Era of Transcultural Networks?
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 →