Exclusive | China’s flexible belt and road approach leads to ambiguity
- Beijing’s global infrastructure drive will be in the spotlight this week when dozens of heads of state converge for the second Belt and Road Forum
- In the second of a four-part series, Jane Cai and Catherine Wong look at the range of responses to the project from the international community
A red carpet, gala dinner and a greeting at the presidential palace by guards on horseback – a privilege usually reserved for monarchs and popes – marked Chinese President Xi Jinping’s arrival in Italy last month for a landmark moment in his signature project to revitalise the ancient Silk Road.
Nearly six years since its inception, Italy is the first Group of Seven country to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to join China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, which has so far been embraced by 126 countries and regions as well as 29 international organisations.
The ambitious and contentious project has attracted mounting suspicions in Europe, along with repulsion and accusations of neocolonialism from the United States.
Analysts say the latest endorsement for the quickly expanding network from Italy – the world’s eighth-largest economy – is expected to reinforce Beijing’s confidence to carry out the programme by sticking to the China way.
While Western countries follow a rule-based approach through multilateral programmes, China gets its partners, usually by bilateral means, to share a vision or agree on a strategy, instead of a treaty.
Once an overarching concept is agreed, usually marked by the signing of an MOU, the signatory is regarded by China as a member of the belt and road scheme. There are no legal ramifications for the host countries or China if either withdraws from the agreement.