China will continue to promote the construction of the economic belt along the Silk Road, as well as the "21st century maritime Silk Road," according to the annual Central Economic Work Conference, which ended last week.

Aiming at strengthening the economic ties between Europe and Asia and promoting economic exchanges in Asia, the policy is a continuation of China's strategy to secure an amicable, tranquil and prosperous periphery. It also shows China's will to maintain a sound relationship with neighboring countries.

However, after careful thinking, we realize that it is rash to propose such an idea, because there are no feasible implementation measures or plans about how to cooperate with neighboring countries.

This has caused frequent misunderstanding and even intentional misinterpretation by the foreign media. An example is Russia. After China proposed the idea, Vladimir Putin was criticized domestically for being too pro-China, and the Russians were worried that their interests would be harmed. It was difficult for Putin to speak in favor of China even if he agreed with the idea.

Building a new Silk Road is complicated and it cannot be done by one country alone.

First of all, relations with Russia are a key issue. In the eyes of the Chinese, building a new Silk Road is good for Russia too, but we can't expect the Russians to agree. From what we have seen, Russia is very critical of the idea. Russians generally believe Central Asia is their backyard. Even though the United States has troops in the region, it doesn't play an active role in the regional economy. The construction of the new Silk Road will change Russia's position. China's foreign ministry owes Russia an explanation. The sound China-Russia relations over the past 10 years were based on strategic mutual dependence. The two sides had conflicts, but they were kept well under control. If Russia feels its influence in the neighboring region is weakened, it will undoubtedly change its strategy towards China.

The next issue is the method of cooperation, which is key to the development of the new Silk Road. When developing foreign policy, we sometimes overlook other countries' appeals. However, multilateral cooperation can't prevail if it fails to appeal to all sides. Trade-based cooperation is not feasible for central Asian countries, because their purchasing power is limited, and it does not benefit their economic development. If the cooperation is based on trade, the new Silk Road will simply turn into a channel for China to transfer its overcapacity. The central Asian countries are fully aware of this, and so is Russia. Over the past 10 years, China's growing economic dependence on the outside world hasn't dramatically changed its image. On the contrary, its image has got worse. China's extension of the manufacturing industry reminds people of the historical trade empires. Therefore, the new Silk Road should not be taken as a simple revival of the historical Silk Road. Fundamental changes have taken place since then. Using trade as a method of cooperation is no longer suitable.

Besides, there is another criticism about the new Silk Road. Some people argue that the policy pays too much attention to other countries' interests. China shouldn't provide so many resources for other countries, because we are still a developing economy. This argument has some merit. The foreign media often encourages China to contribute to the development of other countries, as a responsible big world power. But who told the foreign media that China is a developed country, when in fact we are still developing? We should reflect on our position. Let's stop talking the talk and start to walk the walk.

The author is a student working on his doctorate at the Russia Study Centre of East China Normal University.

This article was translated by Chen Xia. Its original unabridged version was published in Chinese.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

Related

• Reviving the maritime Silk Road
• Cities ink Silk Road economic belt agreement
• Experts mull over Silk Road revival

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)