Why Europe should fully endorse the Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative is a vision of global prosperity, peace, cooperation and mutually beneficial investments, which is urgently needed during this period of collapse of the previous international order established after World War II. There are, of course, massive material incentives for Europe, which could only benefit from a prosperous Central Asia, with new markets, trade partners, and trade routes. There are the ideological benefits of being part of those who actively reduce poverty and work to build a prosperous world. But there’s also the geopolitical and historical context, which speaks for European engagement in the BRI.

The international order set forth by the United Nations was mainly established by the West (including the mainly European USSR) and has long been dominated by the West. The original aspiration was a more equitable, fair and especially peaceful world, but many countries at the time were still semi- or full colonies of Western powers and couldn’t participate in the creation of the new order at the time.

More and more nations have since regained their independence and sovereignty, and started integrating into this world order, welcomed by the West, as long as they didn’t challenge the Western domination. The General Secretary of the UN can come from any country, but the more “hard power” positions of the World Bank and IMF presidents were always occupied by Europeans or Americans. When the WTO increasingly took cases challenging US unilateral trade restrictions, the US stopped replacing judges, rendering the arbitration body of the WTO dysfunctional. When unilateral sanctions by the US showed less and less effect, the US started weaponizing the USD, which had previously served as world trade currency.

While the orientation of a domineering US has become increasingly unacceptable for the global South, also the common people in Europe increasingly suffer from US policies aimed at restoring US military and economic dominance in the European periphery, at the cost of European economic and geopolitical power. The EU sanctions against Russian energy are hurting European industry, the bombing of Nord Stream II, not investigated by Germany, and celebrated by US political elites, further exacerbates Europe’s crisis.

Europe’s best alternative lies in the original aspiration of the UN-based world order, which is now carried forth by the global South, and notably by China’s Belt and Road vision of a peaceful, equitable, and prosperous world. Nobody can reject these goals; Europe especially does endorse these goals.

Unfortunately, ruling elites in the West still have difficulty shaking off their competitive or even adversarial mindset against China. They simultaneously try to prevent an integrated world economy with keywords like “decoupling” or “de-risking”, as they present “alternatives” to “China’s” Belt and Road. Especially the idea of “alternative” infrastructure investment projects - like Global Gateway or BBBW - shows the lack of understanding of the world as a shared community of humankind:

For entrepreneurs, businesses, and the economy as a whole, it doesn’t matter who invests in infrastructure or under what framework, as long the investment is really made. A BBBW port is still a port, a Global Gateway train route is still a train route, just as a Eurasian Economic Union trade standard is also still a standard. All these frameworks create synergies.

The only relevant question is whether the frameworks get implemented or not, or whether standards get accepted or not. Belt and Road isn’t an exclusive framework to pit one against the other. It’s an open vision in which all participants are contributors. Belt and Road already fully cooperates with Russia’s European Economic Union, and could equally cooperate with the Global Gateway and BBBW projects, if they ever get implemented.

China has many times made clear it doesn’t aim to replace the current UN-led world order based on international law. Much rather, China works on reviving its original aspiration in a new era, with many more independent nations than 80 years ago. As Chinese President Xi Jinping has said in the opening speech of the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation: “Belt and Road cooperation was proposed by China, but its benefits and opportunities are for the world to share. ”

The West has become increasingly isolated in recent geopolitical disputes, be it in sanctioning Russia, the recognition of Palestinian statehood, or the weaponization of the USD, not to mention cultural values. Most people in the world want peace, prosperity, and mutual respect for differences, rather than one-size-fits-all cultural and political ideology.

EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell visited China on October 12, stating he wished China would look at Europe more independently, and “not through the lens of its relations with others”. Cooperation under the Belt and Road would be a great place for European governments to start being more independent of the US. Hungary has shown that such an independent position is possible. China and the world would certainly welcome an independent Europe in a multipolar world order based on international law and mutual respect.

Europe’s economy would be better off if Europe fully joined the Belt and Road and invested in building peace and prosperity instead of war and weapons deliveries. The European people should either force their elites to start working in the people’s interests again, or replace the political leadership of Europe.

Contributed by Harald Buchmann, Swiss Researcher for German-Chinese Relations, Center for China and Globalization