China’s new world order ‘unrealistic’ if built on belt and road alone, senior US diplomatic observer says
Beijing cannot avoid dealing with the developed world if it wants to build a technologically advanced country
It will not be realistic for China to build an alternative world order through its massive infrastructure investments overseas as other regional players do not want to take sides between Beijing and Washington, according to a senior US diplomatic observer.
Miles Kahler, a senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, said China’s infrastructure strategy – known as the “Belt and Road Initiative” – had already received resistance from Malaysia, and there were concerns the Maldives may be next.
China’s flagship belt and road strategy was launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013 to boost infrastructure and trade links with more than 60 nations from Asia to Africa. Financing for projects is available through the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
“Many people see AIIB and the Belt and Road Initiative as part of the parallel economic system China is building. I’m not sure if that’s realistic or feasible,” Kahler said on Thursday in a forum on global governance in Beijing.
“I don’t think countries in the region want that. They all have their own interests and autonomy to defend.”
Key belt and road projects include the US$62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka, leased to state-owned Chinese companies.