Wu Dahui

(Director, Center for Eurasia Strategy Studies, Tsinghua University)

Author

Wu Dahui is Professor and PhD Supervisor at the Department of International Relations, Tsinghua University; Director of Center for Eurasia Strategy Studies, Tsinghua University; Secretary-general of the Chinese Association for Russian, East European & Central Asian Studies; leading expert in the China-Russia Full Strategic Coordination and Cooperation Innovation Center; a researcher at the Euro-Asian Social Development Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council; a senior researcher at the China Center for Peace and Development Studies.

Abstract

The ancient Silk Road is not a simple road, but a commercial and cultural link that connected ancient East and West and was maintained by people of various nations along the Road. The Silk Road Economic Belt seeks for the coexistence and mutual benefits of different civilizations, countries and social systems, based on the activation of the historical traditions in Europe and Asia.The initiative features openness and equality, rather than the concerns of political and security issues; and it is not the so-called "marching to the west". It is designed to create a flexible, diverse and practical economic cooperation model, and will not necessarily set such high goals as establishing free trade zones, tariff alliances or unified economic space. Though China first proposed the initiative, it does not mean that China will dominate or control the construction of the belt. The construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt does not attempt to replace the current bilateral or multilateral economic and trade cooperation mechanism, but will connects the Asia Pacific economy and European economy. It will be a flexible, open, and inclusive model aiming for mutual benefits. The current task of carrying out the initiative of the Silk Road Economic Belt is to strengthen the joint research and exploration with countries that have embraced the initiative, establish the basic framework for the belt as soon as possible, set down a unified operating principle, and seek for consensus so that the initiative can be substantiated more quickly. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a fundamental platform to promote the initiative, and the participation of the SCO members is key to the initiative. As for China, the central government needs to provide guidance to the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt to prevent local governments from blindly contending for the status, opportunities, resources, and policy supports.