China’s trading partners are concerned that the new Silk Road project may get them stuck in a ‚debt-trap diplomacy‘.
„As the water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it, so a wise man adapts himself to circumstances, “ Chinese philosopher Confucius once advised. As the West, led by no less than the United States, succumbs to bouts of protectionism, China (the world’s largest trading nation) has found itself in a precarious situation.
Amid a slowing economy, the Chinese leaders are deeply worried about losing easy access to overseas consumer markets, which fuelled the country’s turbo-charged industrialisation in recent decades. Latest data show that global trade has actually stagnated.
In response, China has launched an ambitious mega-infrastructure project aimed at reviving the ancient Silk Road with 21st-century technology. In a strange twist of events, China, led by a self-described communist regime, has suddenly emerged as an unlikely vanguard of globalisation.
On May 14, Beijing launched the so-called „One Belt, One Road (OBOR) “ initiative, better known as the New Silk Road project, during a summit of global leaders. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who led the opening ceremony as the keynote speaker, hosted the leaders of 28 nations, who were more than eager to benefit from Beijing’s grand ambitions and largesse.
Earlier this year, Xi became the first Chinese head of state to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, an annual gathering of the global liberal elite. More shocking than his mere attendance at the event was his full-hearted endorsement of a liberal economic order.
„Just blaming economic globalisation for the world’s problems is inconsistent with reality, “ declared Xi in an implicit rebuke of protectionist rhetoric deployed by the likes of US President Donald Trump. The leader of the world’s largest communist nation described globalisation as a „big ocean that you cannot escape from“, while criticising protectionism as „locking oneself in a dark room“.
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Xi’s surreal endorsement of values that run counter to communist dogma was grounded in a sound calculation of Chinese national interest. As the world’s leading trading nation, the country desperately needs the wheels of globalisation to grind on.
