China´s One Belt - One Road Initiative

For its 7th Workshop on EU-China Relations in Global Politics European and Asian Perspectives on China´s Belt and Road Initiative, the organisers - KAS RECAP and UACES, chose Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, where China´s President Xi Jinping had announced the concept of BRI （一带一路）for the first time in 2015.

Since then BRI has become a global vision: it covers a long list of policy areas: infrastructure, logistics, trade, finance, investment, culture, education, environment, health care, people-to-people contact, education and others. And it actively involves at least sixty countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa, with an open invitation for Australia and Latin America to join. But the centerpiece remains the heartland of Eurasia , Central Asia.

Which better place could be therefore chosen to discuss the implications of this geostrategic “grand design”? How can the role of Europe and Central Asia be defined and strengthened to become more than just a transit hub and destination for Chinese products?

Since 2012 Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and the UACES, the collaborative research network on EU-China relations, have held a series of conferences on core dimensions of Eurasian development: urbanization, innovation, security. This year´s event was attended by more than 80 scholars and young professionals from West- and Eastern Europe, Central and South Asia, and China. The participants critically reviewed the progress made in Eurasian integration and developed recommendations on how to define in particular Central Asian and European.

The following topics had been discussed from Asian and European perspectives:

• The BRI is one of the most obvious projects in the reshaping the existing world order. New processes and institutions have to evolve. Simple imposing order from one side will create resistance (as can already be seen in some of the BRI countries) and hinder this project from unfolding its huge development potential. Europe has to play a much more and proactive role in defining the characteristics of BRI.
• Connectivity has to be expanded beyond infrastructure. People-to-people connections become more and more important. Here as well opening and reciprocity remain crucial.
• Large parts of BRI projects are directly or indirectly carried out by Chinese state-owned, fincanced and controlled entreprises – while Western countries and companies claim fair and reciprocal access to markets. BRI therefore will lead to a serious re-discussion of the role of the state vs. markets. The European Union has to strengthen its political, normative and economic investment in the Eurasian region. The participation of several European countries in the Asian Infrastracture and Investment Bank (AIIB) can be seen a new modell of cooperative structures.

Since last year, the academic event is followed by a young leaders forum, jointly organized with the local business community. The German Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Rolf Mafael, gave an overview on the role of Kazakhstan in the evolving Eurasian integration process and as anchor of stability in the region. He stressed the complementary role of European policy and investment in the modernization and diversification process of the country. This fits well into the multivectoral approach of Kazakh foreign policy.

During the panel discussion, chaired by Dr. Peter Hefele, Director RECAP, the participants agreed on the need for better training of future Eurasian leaders to cope with the complexity of an ever deeper integrated continent. With regard to the geographical scope of integration along the BRI, it become clear that this process has to be kept open to other regions, in particular to Russia and South Asia. For long-term success, the Central Asian country have to gain ownership in this strategic endeveaour. The European Union can serve as a provider of standards and norm, and a complemenatary investor.

The organiser will publish the best presentations in the forecoming months.

A audiopodcast of the wrap-up session can be soon found here.