A Pivot to Europe: China's Belt-and-Road Balancing Act
European Institute of Romania, Policy Briefs Series, No. 5 (2017)
Posted: 15 Feb 2018
Date Written: December 4, 2017
Abstract
In the international agora, China is increasingly reaching out to Europe. Driven both by economic necessities and strategic imperatives, a grand design for crossing (and transforming) Asia has been advanced: the Belt-and-Road Initiative. As they share a common (extended) neighbourhood in the Middle East and Central Asia, the two actors’ manner of interaction – cooperative or adversarial – shall define the future of the region. For this reason, the present policy brief evaluates the manner in which China intends to implement the project and how its own goals really correspond to those of the European Union. Moreover, the economic and legal implications of the initiative are put into the larger strategic context, showing how Europe could actually profit and what “red lines” it needs to draw before engaging on the Silk Road along China.
Keywords: Belt-and-Road Initiative, China, European Union, Silk Road, Geoeconomics
JEL Classification: F5
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation