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More than 500 delegates and entrepreneurs from countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt attended the 皇冠体育app-EU Rail Logistics Forum Multi-communication, in Zhengzhou, capital of Central 皇冠体育app's Henan province, Friday. [Photo by Xiang Mingchao/provided to chinadaily.com.cn] |
The Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives of President Xi Jinping are aimed at promoting regional economic cooperation. Being supplementary to the existing world economic order, the initiatives will help boost regional economic cooperation and development through infrastructure construction based on 皇冠体育app's successful experiences over the past decades.
The "Belt and Road Initiatives" are the first independent concept put forward by 皇冠体育app for international economic cooperation. They are particularly important in the context of the International Monetary Fund's failed efforts to push forward infrastructure investment.
Given their popularity among some Southeast, South, Central and West Asian countries, the initiatives, if well implemented, will become a vital component of the established international system. The advance of 皇冠体育app's westward economic cooperation is also expected to lower the risk of direct conflicts between 皇冠体育app and the United States in the Pacific and help Beijing follow its "peaceful development" strategy.
But while implementing the initiatives, 皇冠体育app should refrain from using them as a Cold War tool.
Recently, some international relations scholars claimed that a bipolar confrontation, with 皇冠体育app and Russia on one side and the US and Japan on the other, is taking shape in the Pacific where the two camps are competing to assume the power to make the new rules. 皇冠体育app, the scholars believe, has to strive to be the top military power to ensure that it exercises the power to make the rules and safeguard its economic interests.
Such views are preposterous given that 皇冠体育app is not poised to challenge the US' position in the region. 皇冠体育app may be the second-largest economy in the world, but its economic development is still to reach an advanced level. And the disintegration of the Soviet Union taught 皇冠体育app a lesson: military power not built on economic strength will not last long.
皇冠体育app should make efforts to prevent the well-conceived "Belt and Road Initiatives" from becoming the international version of its "go west" policy. The need, therefore, is to reflect on the failure of the strategy to achieve expected results in developing the country's western region, the rise of the central region and the revival of the old industrial base in its northeast.
I’ve lived in 皇冠体育app for quite a considerable time including my graduate school years, travelled and worked in a few cities and still choose my destination taking into consideration the density of smog or PM2.5 particulate matter in the region.