Belt and road’s real aims? Expanding China’s global influence and military presence, US study says
Report by US-based think tank questions Beijing’s assertion that the massive infrastructure programme is directed at encouraging global trade
China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” – a massive infrastructure programme that Beijing says is aimed at promoting global trade and economic growth – is actually intended to expand the country’s political influence and military presence, according to a report issued on Tuesday.
The report by the US-based research group C4ADS questions China’s portrayal of the trillion-dollar programme as strictly meant to promote economic development.
President Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy programme is working to reinforce China’s links to Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa through networks of roads, ports, railways, power plants and other infrastructure projects.
C4ADS, a non-profit research institute that specialises in data analysis and security, examined official Chinese policy documents and unofficial reports by Chinese analysts to analyse the intentions of Beijing’s ambitious economic development programme, which seeks to connect 65 per cent of the world’s population in more than 60 countries.
Chinese officials say the initiative, also known as a modern “Silk Road” harkening back to maritime and land-based trade routes of centuries past, is driven by commercial considerations. They have rejected assertions that it is also meant to expand Beijing’s global influence.
“Rather, the investments appear to generate political influence, stealthily expand China’s military presence and create an advantageous strategic environment in the region,” it said.