Chinese President Xi Jinping warmly welcomed his “dear friend,” Russian President Vladimir Putin, to Beijing on Tuesday. At a banquet, the two leaders toasted the coming of a multipolar world, with Xi saying “we firmly believe that the historical trends of peace, development, cooperation and mutual wins are unstoppable.”
However, Putin is just one of 130 world leaders to send delegations to China to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the launching of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an infrastructure megaproject initiated by China that has taken on globe-spanning proportions over the last decade.
Professor Anna Malindog-Uy, vice president of the Manila-based think tank Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute, told Sputnik the BRI was a “visionary undertaking” that would have huge benefits for the parts of the globe historically neglected in industrialization and modernization processes over the last two centuries.
“I believe that the Belt and Road Initiative is a project of the century. First and foremost, we have to look at the BRI as a visionary undertaking that transcends border cultures and ideologies. It is without a doubt one of the most ambitious, huge and transformative initiatives of our time. Conceived by China, but embraced by nations across Asia, Africa, Europe, and even beyond, It has evolved into a collaborative effort that spans continents, reshaping the world's economic and political landscape.”
“In this context, the BRI holds the power to revolutionize the fortunes of the Global South or the developing economy, and how it has the potential to be a true game-changer for the Developing World," she said.
“In terms of how it impacts or affects the global market and the world, first and foremost, the BRI is a lifeline in terms of infrastructure development to countries that have long grappled with inadequate connectivity. Infrastructure development forms the backbone of this initiative, offering a lifeline to countries that have long struggled with inadequate transportation networks and energy access.”
“This infrastructure translates into enhanced trade, investment and economic growth, elevating the economies of the Developing World or the Global South countries and fostering inclusive and sustainable development. The BRI networks of roads, railways, ports and digital connectivity enables goods and services to flow more freely, reducing trade costs and expanding business opportunities. This increase in trade leads to economic revitalization and job creation, particularly among BRI-participating countries.”
“It has challenged to a great extent existing Western-based economic infrastructure projects on many grounds,” she said. One major area is its “impressive” investment, which is both competing with and complementing existing Western infrastructure projects in Asia, Africa, and beyond.
“The challenge is how far it can compete when you talk about scale of financing, because if you look at the BRI, it has its funding and the scale is massive and it has a lot of money,” she noted.
“So that is one of the challenges. The second one is quality and standards. The further success of the BRI will also depend on the quality of infrastructure it delivers. The way I see it, China being the lead in the BRI project, it will focus on high quality and sustainable projects which will be more competitive in the long run and may outperform Western-based projects, which in the long run may not be reliable anymore.”
Malindog-Uy noted that BRI is also based in multilateral cooperation, giving it a major advantage over typically unilateral Western-based projects.
“The fourth factor would be the global market impact. The competition or cooperation between the BRI and the Western-based projects can affect global markets in various ways. Increased competition can lead to better infrastructure options, potentially driving down the cost for development,” she explained.
“However, if there is competition, it may also create geopolitical tension and may exacerbate existing issues related to debt sustainability and transparency.”
“I think another one is diversification of financing. So if you really look at the BR, it's now trying to diversify its funding, but in many ways it's also trying to cooperate with Western-based institutions. On the other hand, the Western-based institution is still, you know, more based on IMF or World Bank funding. So I think this would be a tricky situation for both sides.”
To take one example, Malindog-Uy referred to the India-Middle-East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), which she said was “another scheme and an attempt by the United States to contain the peaceful rise of China.”
“It is obviously an attempt to counter Beijing's growing economic and political influence across the world, more particularly the Global South, facilitated by the Belt and Road Initiative,” she said. “However, the huge question is how will this project really be funded and whether the United States is indeed financially committed to this project.”
Indeed, she noted “the lack of financial commitment” by the US toward US President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better infrastructure project, which has resulted in a slow implementation. But she noted that if the IMEEC is actually completed, Global South nations may still not be persuaded to use it instead of the BRI “because of the probable ‘strings attached’ or conditions that come with this project concerning human rights, promotion of democracy of the United States and the like.”
“The success of the BRI in the last ten years is indicative of the emerging multipolar world, especially in the arena of geopolitics. The BRI introduces a transformative shift. It challenges the conventional Western hegemonic structures and is ushering in a multipolar world. If you really look at the Global South, especially countries that are participating in the in the BRI, what it means for them is they are now getting a prominent role in the global stage where developing nations gain ground and have greater say in how they shape their countries and how they shape their economies and how they shape their destinies and forging strategic partnerships.”
Wan Chengcai, a senior adviser to the Chinese Association of Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, told Sputnik that while this is Putin’s 19th visit to China, this time the Russian president is leading a large governmental delegation, indicating he attaches special historic importance to the trip.
“Our Russian colleagues believe that, although this visit is not official, it is of historical importance. I agree. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Xi Jinping's ‘One Belt, One Road Initiative,’ China invited Putin as an important and honored guest to take part in this forum and make a speech at it - Putin happily agreed to this. This indicates that the Chinese side attaches great importance to Russia’s participation in the construction of the ‘One Belt, One Road’. Likewise, President Putin attaches great importance to the construction of this initiative,” Wang said.
According to the expert, Russia’s active participation is important for the construction of the Belt and Road.
“Putin’s visit to Beijing is another important event in bilateral relations following the visit to Russia by Chinese President Xi Jinping in March this year, which will certainly contribute to the high-quality development of bilateral relations and strengthen cooperation between the countries in all fields,” he added.
Wang said that he expects Xi and Putin to discuss practical questions of cooperation, as well as current global issues, and that the meeting will lead to further bilateral economic cooperation. With the world convulsed by such dramatic changes, China and Russia are likely to work together toward a multipolar and equitable new world order, Wang added.