“一带一路”倡议与中国大外交

郑永年【新加坡】

新加坡国立大学东亚研究所 所长、教授

2015年3月28日，国家主席习近平出席亚洲博鳌论坛，在本次论坛上，习主席详细展示了丝绸之路经济带及21世纪海上丝绸之路经济带的愿景，赢得了全世界的关注。“一带一路”倡议从此得到沿线国家广泛而热烈的响应，一系列合作项目已经陆续上马。“一带一路”倡议涉及60多个国家，覆盖人口超过全球总人口数的一半，所占经济总量约为全世界的1/3。在过去几年里，习近平主席和李克强总理在外事访问过程中不断推进“一带一路倡议”的实施进程。

然而中国在实施“一带一路”倡议的过程中，并非始终一帆风顺。这点最明显的体现在美日两个大国对于刚刚成立的亚洲基础设施投资银行（AIIB）的态度上。作为实施“一带一路”倡议的主要保障，亚洲基础设施投资银行的创始成员国包括英国、法国、德国等西方国家，但美日两国尚未参与。尽管一些国家对“一带一路”倡议依然存有疑虑，但全世界都已经意识到，中国提出的这一倡议是不容忽视的。从根本上讲，“一带一路”属于经济工程，但它会对外交、政治乃至安全等多个领域造成影响。

中国希望通过“一带一路”倡议来展现她所代表的和平、尊重、开放以及包容的代精神。对中国而言，这一倡议的国际战略意义在于，它有助于打破中美之间关于安全问题的困境，有利于中国以崛起大国的身份承担起区域责任和国际责任，增强中国在世界舞台上的软实力。

中国的“大外交”

自改革开放以来，中国一直奉行由邓小平确立的“韬光养晦”的外交政策。在邓小平的领导下，中国实现了与世界接轨。随着中国国际地位的不断提高，国际社会开始期望中国能在国际事务中扮演更加重要的角色。当然，这种领导方式偶尔也会遭到苛责，认为中国缺乏大方向上的外交战略，在变幻莫测的国际环境中，这种外交政策过于低调。自步入新世纪以来，特别是在中共十八大之后，中国领导人逐渐勾勒出“大外交”的战略蓝图。

中国“大外交”战略的主要特色可以概括为“两条腿，一个圈”。“两条腿”包括与美国、俄罗斯、印度以及欧洲主要国家建立的新型大国关系，而“一个圈”则主要指针对亚洲邻国的周边外交，三者互相交接、相辅相成。

新型大国关系

新型大国关系是当前中国发展同大国关系的外交。尽管新型大国关系这个理念是针对中美关系提出的，但它同样适用于中国同俄罗斯、印度以及欧洲等主要国家的双边关系，而这些国家也大都是“一带一路”的沿线大国。从地缘政治上看，能够对中国的发展和“一带一路”构成致命的外在威胁和挑战的也正是这些大国。只有处理好同这些大国的关系，才能确保“一带一路”顺利实施。自邓小平执政的后期开始，国际和平环境一直被视为中国可持续发展的前提。中国必须根据国际环境的变化随时调整自身的外交政策，如此才能保证国际和平和国内的发展。今天，对于中国而言，同美、俄、印、欧构建新型大国关系对于维持国际和平至关重要。

在中美关系上，随着中国崛起和美国全球主导地位的相对衰落，中美之间的博弈有所升温。虽然双方都希望博弈能够导致双赢而非“零和”的结果，但从国际政治的角度看，大国之间的博弈很容易受非理性因素影响，其结果不见得就是博弈者所预期的，甚至可能相反。根据西方国际关系理论和经验，崛起中的大国经常挑战守成大国，而后者往往对前者产生恐惧和戒备，从而陷入“修昔底德陷阱”。这个隐喻的意义在于警示我们，要注意到崛起大国与守城大国对抗而带来的危险——例如，在古希腊时代，雅典城邦曾挑战斯巴达城邦、一个世纪之前，德国曾挑战英国等。哈佛大学贝尔弗尔科学及国际事务研究中心的葛莱汉姆·艾莉森曾领导团队做过一个实验，针对过去500年中16起案例中的12起进行分析，最终得出的结论是，每当陷入这种困境时，最终必然会引发战争。

在中国主席习近平看来，“修昔底德陷阱”并非无可避免。早在2013年，中国就提出构建中美新型大国关系的倡议，目的就在于避免历史上一再上演的新兴大国与守成大国之间争霸而导致战争的悲剧。2015年，中国国家主席习近平在访美期间提出，同美方一道构建新型大国关系，实现双方不冲突不对抗、相互尊重、合作共赢，是中国外交政策的优先方向。美国总统奥巴马也提出，美中两国都有能力管控分歧，避免陷入“修昔底德陷阱”。多年来，尽管中美两国在诸多领域存在分歧，但在多数情况下，都能够以国家环境和全球趋势为基础，努力构建这种新型大国关系。虽然美国表示不会参与亚洲基础设施银行——“一带一路”倡议的重要保障，但中国却表示，大门永远向美国敞开。

在中俄关系上，“一带一路”经过中亚、东欧的广大地区通往欧洲，而这一带是俄罗斯地缘政治利益的核心。因此，中国必须在与中亚国家合作的同时，注重与俄罗斯的合作。在这方面已经存在一个有效的国际机制，即上海合作组织。上合组织是针对有关国家共同面临的问题，如恐怖主义，而不是针对第三方的。它可以为“一带一路”提供助力。2015年5月，习近平主席出访俄罗斯，两国政府发表联合声明，正式确认“欧亚经济联盟”与“一带一路”对接，这将更加有利于中国与中亚国家拓展合作。

在中印关系上，“一带一路”经过东南亚，到达印度洋和非洲，因而也涉及印度的地缘政治利益。近年来，无论在中东还是非洲，印度已在扮演重要角色。中国的快速崛起和“走出去”已经引起印度高度关注。中印之间还存在领土主权纠纷，但如果处理得好，两国就能够克服地缘政治利益纠纷，实现合作。毕竟，中印相处数千年都没有大的冲突，今天两国间的纠纷是西方帝国主义遗留的问题。中国在实施“一带一路”过程中，如果能考量到印度的地缘政治利益，两国就可以找到巨大的合作空间。

在中国与欧盟的关系上，“一带一路”将从亚洲出发一直联通欧洲。中国与欧洲并不存在直接的地缘政治冲突，双方都能从互惠互利的经贸关系中实现发展。目前，欧洲国家正陷入经济衰退的困境，因此对中欧关系给予了高度重视，至少在经济层面如此。因此，中国的“一带一路”在欧洲才会受到如此热捧。2015年3月，17个欧洲国家，包括英国、法国、德国、意大利，均加入了中国亚洲基础设施投资银行的建设。2015年9月28日，欧盟委员会发表声明，欢迎中国的“一带一路”与欧洲的投资计划接轨。一个月后，即同年10月，习近平主席在访问英国时，两国同意携手构建“面向21世纪全球全面战略伙伴关系”2015年10月末至11月初，欧洲多位重要领导人，包括荷兰国王威廉—亚历山大·克劳斯·乔治·费迪南德、德国总理默克尔、法国总统弗朗索瓦·奥朗德等人，相继访问中国。在默克尔和奥朗德访华前夕，德法两国驻华大使在中国《人民日报》上联合发表文章，宣布德法两国是“中国在欧盟的核心伙伴”。同年11月，中国外交部表示，中国已经申请加入欧洲复兴开发银行。12月14日，欧洲复兴开发银行委员会通过决议，接受中国的申请。与此同时，欧洲复兴开发银行宣布已经准备好与亚洲基础设施投资银行开展合作。对于中国领导人而言，这真是中国与欧盟关系的“黄金时期”。尽管双方在中国的市场经济地位、人权等很多政治问题上仍然存在较大的分歧，但中国目前已经有足够的实力与欧盟中的大国深化双边关系。

“一带一路”

“一带一路”的主要目标是发展中国家。尽管它也延伸至欧洲一些发达国家，但沿线的60 多个国家大都是中小发展中国家。这些国家相对于中国而言经济较为落后，因此经济发展始终被放在首位。“一带一路”倡议包括经贸、金融、基础设施、文化等多个方面的内容。中国与沿线国家的经济发展要素呈现很强的互补性，如果能够有效结合，就可以释放出巨大的生产力。“ 一带一路”可以看作中国主要面向发展中国家的外交，沿线国家多半拥有丰沛的自然资源与人力资源，但普遍缺乏资金、人才、技术，且面临基础设施不足、市场规模过小、治理能力不佳等瓶颈。而中国所具备的三大优势可以协助这些国家克服瓶颈，激发经济发展动力。在过去几十年中，中国经历了世界上最大规模的基础设施建设。自改革开放以来，中国的经济发展一直以大规模基础设施建设为特征。

一是基建优势。今天，中国从事基础设施建设的能力堪称世界第一，有能力同时在多国承建水库、电厂、超高压输电网、深水港、机场、工业区、传统铁路、高速公路、高速铁路、移动通信网络等项目。中国也有能力协助整个地区（如东南亚）建设跨国基础设施网络，让各国克服国内市场规模过小的障碍，并能够在地区内发展产业分工，形成跨国产业集群。很显然，基础设施建设是每个国家实现工业化、城市化、经济腾飞的前提。

二是发展经验优势。中国在改革开放过程中，在经济发展、公共治理、城市规划等领域积累了丰富的经验，中国可以与沿线国家分享这些经验。中国在改革开放过程中取得的发展成就说明，经验是具有普适性的。与此同时，中国能够从自身的学习过程中获益，通过不断摸索，最终找到一条适合中国国情的治理模式。因此，不论是中国经验还是中国的教训，对于国情和需求与中国类似的发展中国家而言，都是具有借鉴意义的。在所谓的中国模式遭到西方批判时，许多发展中国家却从中发现了可以学习和借鉴的共性。

三是金融优势。若没有金融支持，历史上没有任何一个国家能够顺利地推行大外交战略或“走出去”战略。中国同时拥有庞大的外汇储备和丰沛的国内储蓄，并已建立独立的全球支付系统，中国和许多国家都签订了本币互换协议，人民币作为国际贸易结算货币日益普及。随着人民币即将正式纳入国际货币基金组织特别提款权货币篮子，并占10.92%的权重，人民币将加快成为可自由兑换货币，并位列美元（41.73%）、欧元（30.93%）之后，成为世界第三大货币。因此，中国有能力为广大发展中国家提供低成本的融资平台与信贷机制。

周边外交

周边外交是中国大外交战略的核心和前沿，这是由中国特殊的地缘政治环境所决定的；而“一带一路”的起点就是中国周边地区。

在世界大国中，中国的地缘政治环境非常特殊。同英国相比，英伦三岛孤悬于大西洋，英国是典型的海洋国家；而中国既是陆地大国又是海洋大国。同美国相比，美国周边只有两个国家，即北面的加拿大和南面的墨西哥，地缘环境非常简单，且这两个国家的实力与美国不可相提并论，并都需依赖美国发展；而中国则不同，周边有十几个海陆国家，且包括俄、日、印等强国。所以，中国外交不能机械地模仿英美，必须根据自己所处地缘政治环境，制定务实可行的外交战略。

当今国际安全领域的多数热点问题都发生在中国周边，其中很多是和中国直接相关的，包括朝鲜核问题、东海主权纠纷、台湾问题、南海主权纠纷、缅甸问题、中印边界问题、阿富汗问题等。近年来，旧的问题和矛盾依然存在甚至加剧，新的问题也正在出现，如果中国不能很好地进行处理，随时都可能转化成重大危机。

周边地区是中国国际秩序的基础。中国要塑造有利于己的国际秩序，就必须把战略重点放在周边。未来中国要面对的危机更可能直接来自周边的中小国家。而如果周边发生重大危机或中国同周边国家关系出现重大危机，就会对中国国际秩序造成直接和严重的冲击，甚至可能导致中国崛起的根基不稳。

几乎所有周边国家都是“一带一路”的沿线国家。过去几年里，中国政府提出了“睦邻、安邻、富邻”及“亲、诚、惠、容”的周边外交理念和目标，而“一带一路”则是将这些理念付诸行动、实现这些目标的最好途径。

此外，在今后很长的历史时期里，中国面临的主要地缘政治压力仍然来自美国，尽管中美之间没有直接的地缘政治纠纷，且两国在经济上高度相互依赖、相互补充。但中美之间的摩擦和冲突，更可能是中国和周边美国盟友之间的摩擦和冲突。这就意味着建设新型大国关系和周边外交也是密不可分的，两者必须统筹兼顾，不可偏废其一。

“一带一路”倡议与中国追求的“时代精神”

任何大国的崛起，都需要一种“时代精神”作为前提，中国也不例外。在世界政治领域，外界向来批评中国缺乏“软实力”。在西方国家严重，中国的外交政策，特别是对发展中国家的外交政策，是毫无道德原则可言的。例如，西方鼓吹中国为发展中国家的独裁政权提供无条件贷款和投资。然而中国的“一带一路”倡议不仅是对古丝绸之路文化精神的一种传承，更将这种精神注入了现代元素，强调了当代和平、尊重、开放、包容等时代精神。从中国的视角来看，构建一种增强时代精神的机制，是成功实施“一带一路”倡议的关键因素之一。

“时代精神”是德国哲学家黑格尔于19世纪提出的一个概念，认为国家要么有意识地去顺应时代精神，要么主动地去创造时代精神。对于18、19世纪的大英帝国而言，当时的时代精神是自由贸易，之所以自由贸易是“时代精神”，是因为自由贸易符合那个时代的世界经济发展大趋势。英国靠自由贸易立国，也通过自由贸易建立了全球性的帝国。不过，在建立大英帝国的过程中，自由贸易的话语背后，往往是赤裸裸的大炮和武力政策。商船在前，炮舰随后是英国崛起的主要特征。东印度公司、鸦片战争、殖民地等，也是“自由贸易”的内在部分。

对于19至20世纪的美国而言，当时的时代精神是自由与民主。在大英帝国衰落之后，崛起的美国成为世界霸主。在自由贸易方面，美国远不如英国。英国是经济自由主义的故乡，其根深蒂固的经济自由意识形态，使得人们相信自由贸易是一场双赢游戏，因此英国往往奉行主动的、单边开放政策，即使另一个国家不对英国开放，英国也可以向那个国家开放。但美国在自由贸易上实行的对等政策，只有另一个国家向美国开放的时候，美国才向那个国家开放。

美国的“时代精神”不是自由贸易，而是“自由民主”。自由民主曾经使得美国具有无限的吸引力，“美国梦”不仅仅是美国人的梦，也是很多落后国家的梦。不过，和大英帝国一样，在美国向世界各国推行自由民主的背后也是大炮和暴力，制裁他国、用武力解决国与国之间的矛盾、占领他国等也都是美国“自由民主”的一部分。这种方式直到今天仍然延续着，同时也促使着美国的相对衰落。

大英帝国和美国的兴衰说明了，“时代精神”能够成为一个国家崛起的基础，也可以为这个国家带来莫大的利益。不过，当这个国家在向外推广其“时代精神”的过程中，如果方法使用不当，甚至诉诸武力，造成“己所不欲而加于人”的局面，就很难可持续发展，避免不了最终的衰落。

对21世纪的中国来说，这个时代精神又是什么呢？人们可以说，这是中国文明的自信和复兴。丝绸之路既是中国古老文明的一部分，也可以成为当代中国文明在国际政治舞台上自信和复兴的有效方法。当然，今天人们说丝绸之路，并不是要对古老文明的简单重复，更不是要去步早先大英帝国和美国的后尘；相反，中国必须既超越自己的传统，更需要努力超越英美早先帝国主义式的崛起模式。

中国文明是世界上唯一的世俗文明，其文化的开放性和包容性，非其他基于宗教之上的排他性文明所能比拟。从秦始皇帝统一国家到汉唐盛世，中国是世界上最开放的帝国。直到明清才开始变得封闭起来。中国开放传统的宝贵经验需要总结。在开放的状态下，中国如何组织自己的外部关系呢？主要是两部分组成。就其他国家和中华帝国的关系来说，就是“朝贡体系”；就中国“走出去”来说，就是“丝绸之路”。

朝贡体系存在了数千年，直到西方帝国主义入侵中国之后才衰落。从本质上讲，朝贡体系是一种贸易体系，贸易是实的一面，朝贡只是形式。朝贡国定期地送“礼物”给天朝，向中国皇帝叩几个头。但通过朝贡这一形式，朝贡国不仅从中国皇帝那里得到了比其送的礼物要贵重得多的礼物，而且更是取得了和中国的通商贸易的权利。尽管这种体系带有浓厚的封建色彩，但仍不失为一种低成本的自由贸易模式。当西方依靠大炮武力来打开中国的贸易大门时，朝贡体系已经几乎名存实亡。叩头的仪式在当时是无可非议的，是符合当时的做法的，为所有朝贡国所接受，这是中国和朝贡国之间的外交均衡，否则很难解释为什么这个体制能够生存数千年。自19世纪西方列强入侵中国后，清朝再也跟不上“时代精神”，朝贡体系也走到了尽头。

和朝贡体系相比较，人们对丝绸之路并没有什么大的异议。今天中国提出的“丝绸之路经济带”包括陆地和海上丝绸之路，而古代的丝绸之路从也是由海陆两条线路组成。陆地丝绸之路从中国向西，通过中亚、中东的广大地区和欧洲连接起来。提到海上丝绸之路，大多数人能够想起的就是明朝郑和下西洋。但实际上，中国从秦汉开始就进行海上贸易，尤其是和东南亚国家的贸易，并且这种贸易从来就没有中断过。秦汉、唐宋开放时期，海上贸易是合法的。尤其在宋朝，中国和东南亚国家的贸易非常兴盛。反而在郑和下西洋中断之后，明朝实行海禁，海上贸易变成了民间的贸易，并且是非法的。

这里要强调的一点就是，通过朝贡体系和丝绸之路，中国形成了一个自然的区域国际秩序。这种区域秩序体现着中国热爱和平的传统文化精神。这里所说的自然区域国际关系秩序，区别于人为的、通过国家力量尤其是武力来组织的国际关系秩序。在历史上，无论是帝国时代的国际关系，还是帝国解体之后所形成的基于民族国家之上的近现代国际关系，都是基于暴力之上的。大英帝国、苏联、美国在确立以自身为中心的区域国际关系时，往往用武力开路，武力也是这个秩序的基础。中国所确立的这个自然区域国家秩序体系，是在西方基于民族国家之上的国际体系产生之后才解体的。

作为大国的中国，历史上并没有像西方国家那样，有计划地去打造以自己为中心的国际关系，尽管中国自称为“中间王国”。中国古代国际关系的形成，是中国和周边国家根据互相需要而打交道、互动过程中形成的自然秩序。中国所考量的只是如何治理这个自然形成的秩序。从这个角度来说，中国可以说始终是“韬光养晦”，外交的核心始终是贸易，很少用得上国家武力和征服。朝贡体系的核心是贸易，丝绸之路的核心也是贸易；或者说，中国国际关系的核心是经济贸易。而经济贸易，用今天的话说，是一种双赢和互惠的关系。“一带一路”倡议正是复兴古丝绸之路的精神，并在其中融入现代元素。

如今，随着全球化进程的快速演进，在国际竞争中脱颖而出的国家，大多都具有开放和包容的精神，而不是那些民族主义情节较为严重的国家。从经济学角度来讲，前者能够有效地调动和配置国际生产要素。中国在过去三十年中之所以能在经济上取得伟大成就，一个关键因素便在于他的开放精神。简言之，中国的和平崛起可以看作是顺应时代精神——即开放精神的崛起。

这种时代的新精神中既包含着西方哲学中“文化多元性”的概念，也包含着中国“和而不同”、“己所不欲勿施于人”的传统精神，更包含着当代中国外交政策中“和平共处五项原则”所秉持的精神。这种新的价值观与大英帝国的“自由贸易”或是美国的“自由民主”等概念截然不同。

如今，“一带一路”倡议的提出、“丝路基金”和“亚洲基础设施投资银行”成立等，都为区域经济和国际经济的发展提供了平台和工具。这恰好凸出了中国对促进区域经济和全球经济发展所做出的贡献，在自身崛起的同时，也能让伙伴国从中受益。这种发展战略正是时代精神的体现。

此外，中国可以通过两种方式来开展合作式发展、践行“和平、尊重、开放、包容”的时代精神。第一，允许丝绸之路沿线国家的人们大众通过多种渠道参与到“一带一路”倡议，并分享经济发展带来的成果。例如，可以在规划阶段参考当地政府、社会、非政府组织的意见。第二，尽管中国在“一带一路”倡议中扮演主要角色，但同时也要鼓励其他国家参与，以此向外界宣示——中国并不会垄断所有项目。重点要放在中立性和专业性上。为确保项目成功，可以邀请具有实力、掌握高新技术的国外企业一同参与。由于中国的文化精神中自古便包含着着开放和包容的元素，因此中国具备协调各方利益、开启双赢局面的能力。

与此同时，作为起步较晚的发展中国家，中国具有一定的优势，可以借鉴其他国家的发展经验，特别是在亚洲基础设施投资银行和丝路基金的运营方面，可以借鉴西方发达国家的经验。通过发展绿色产业、控制国内污染、构建低碳城市等方式，中国可以有效推动国内经济发展。与此同时，中国可以吸引来自美国和日本的外商进行直接投资，提供技术和设备，这样美日两国不仅能从中国的经济增长和城市化中分享红利，同时也有助于促进中国经济的产业升级。

“一带一路”倡议的国际意义

对于中国而言，“一带一路”的国际意义主要包括三方面：一是有助于突破中国与有关国家之间的安全困境；二是与广大发展中国家实现双赢，更好地承担大国责任；三是形成中国在国际上的软实力。

突破安全困境

“一带一路”通过发展和强化中国与广大发展中国家的关系，将有助于突破国家间的安全困境，并为深化区域经济合作提供新的动力。

第一，美国在中东、非洲以及中亚等地区出现权力真空，而“一带一路”为恰好为中国提供了一个填补真空的机会。美国的“重返亚太”战略一方面有效地挤压了中国的外交空间，但同时也迫使其把战略资源从其他地区调动至东亚，这必将导致美国的战略能力在这些地区相对下降，北京大学国际关系学院院长王缉思认为，而“一带一路”倡议恰好为中国提供了一个填补空缺的机会。“一带一路”倡议一方面将促进经贸发展作为首要目标，但在另一方面也反映出中国针对美国“重返亚太”战略做出的回应。

第二，“一带一路”可以为突破中日在东亚的安全困境创造条件。“一带一路”的实施可以把中日之间的竞争延伸到沿线的众多发展中国家去，从而降低中日在东亚竞争的激烈程度。在发展中国家，中国具有一定优势。实际上，一国在海外的竞争优势就是其内部优势的延续。当前，日本国内的经济发展优势已基本用尽，很难再如往日那样在国际社会扮演经济发展的“领头雁”角色。在今后相当长的时间里，中国国内的经济发展优势决定了中国有能力在发展中国家中扮演这种领导角色。

第三，“一带一路”能够产生更多的共同利益，在地区国家间催生更多的合作的可能性，从而缓解南海问题的紧张局势。

第四，“一带一路”有助于突破中国与西方在贸易和投资上的安全困境。西方国家经常以所谓“威胁国家安全”等理由将中国的资本和产品拒之门外。“一带一路”有助于中国在发展中国家找到这些新的投资和贸易空间，从而减少中国与西方国家之间的经贸摩擦及其引发的其他问题。

承担大国责任

作为世界上最大的发展中国家，中国将通过“一带一路”全面发掘与沿线众多发展中国家的互补互利机会，与这些国家实现双赢，从而承担更多大国责任。从这个意义上讲，“一带一路”是中国走向国际、承担国际责任之路。

一方面，“一带一路”有助于中国实现可持续发展。当前，中国经济结构亟待调整。对此，国内的深化改革自然是至关重要的；同时，也可以充分发挥外部经济要素的作用。这样既可以促进国内改革，又可以在一定程度上减轻改革的压力。历史上，西方发达国家在成长为经济大国的过程中，无一不充分利用了外部经济要素。它们的经济发展往往伴随着对外殖民主义和帝国主义的政策。中国当然不能走西方的老路，但必须找到一条和广大发展中国家相互尊重、共同发展、合作共赢的道路。“一带一路”就是这样一条道路。

今天，中国已经从资本短缺国家变为资本过剩国家，具备了庞大的资本积累，如此庞大的资本大都存在银行，不仅没有增值，而且面临贬值的风险。但同时，中国资本在加快“走出去”，对外投资规模越来越大。在“一带一路”实施过程中，中国要做的就是把大量资本积累转化为投资，从而实现保值增值；而沿线发展中国家要做的就是利用中国的资本来加快国内建设、推动经济发展。

此外，“一带一路”不仅有助于为中国企业成熟的产品找到广阔的海外新市场，而且有助于将中国国内富余的产能有秩序地向外移转，转化为沿线发展中国家经济发展的要素，在促进这些国家经济发展的同时，推动中国国内的产业结构调整。在这一过程中，中国企业的跨国经营能力也可以得到全面提高。

另一方面，“一带一路”通过将外部经济要素（资本和技术）引入发展中国家，同其内部要素（廉价的劳动力和丰富的资源）相结合，从而大大激发它们的经济发展动力，并带动中国与东南亚、南亚、中亚、中东、非洲等地区国家经济伙伴关系的升级，促进区域经济发展。

今天，西方国家虽然发达，但也面临继续发展的瓶颈，在相当程度上缺乏发展动力，更无力帮助发展中国家。即使那些具备援助能力的国家，也往往对援助和投资附加了民主、人权等政治和意识形态上的前提条件，使很多发展中国家难以接受，反而严重制约了发展中国家的发展。相比之下，中国的投资和援助并不附带任何前提条件。中国已经明确表示，“一带一路”的原则是实现共同发展。只有广大发展中国家都富裕起来，中国自身的发展才是可持续的。

形成在国际上的软实力

“ 一带一路”为中国在国际上建设软实力提供了一个契机和平台。它有助于把中国发展的宝贵经验传播到其他发展中国家，尤其是改革开放以来形成的市场与政府两手并用的独特发展经验。

今天，广大发展中国家在推动经济发展上仍面临巨大压力。这些发展中国家在实现独立后继续依赖西方。这主要是由于之前的宗主国继续通过各种方式影响着新独立国家的发展。很显然，这种模式即便没有失败，也并没有取得成功。20世纪80年代以来，西方开始在发展中国家推行“华盛顿共识”或西方发展经验，但这些经验并不适合发展中国家。

中国在短短三十多年里从一个非常贫困的国家跃升为世界第二大经济体这一事实本身，就使得许多发展中国家对中国经验深感兴趣。与此同时，中国通过发展来减少贫困、通过融入世界经济来实现发展，这些都为中国赢得了赞誉。中国经验是在不断修正西方经验的基础上积累而成，而这正是很多发展中国家所需要的。

结语

改革开放三十多年来，中国正逐渐成为世界强国。今天中国所面临的地缘政治和国际形势，要求中国既要“走出去”，在国际舞台上维护国家利益，同时也要承担起作为大国的国际责任。在这个过程中，中国将面临巨大挑战，这就必然需要大外交战略来解决。“一带一路”可以成为当代中国全面走向世界的开端，也是中国崛起必须通过的重要“考试”。

The “Belt and Road”Initiative: China's Grand Diplomacy

Yongnian Zheng /Singapore

Professor and Director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore

On 28 March 2015,Chinese President Xi Jinping caught world attention when he detailed his vision for the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road（the OBOR Initiative）at the Boao Forum for Asia.[12]This Initiative has since received wide and enthusiastic responses from countries along the routes and a number of cooperation projects have already been underway.The OBOR Initiative involves more than 60 countries,covering over half of the global population and economic aggregates of about one third of the world.In the past few years,President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have been busy promoting the implementation of the Initiative in their visits abroad.

China's promotion of the OBOR Initiative has not been all smooth sailing though.Notably,the US and Japan,two major powers in the region,have yet to become a member of the newly established AIIB（Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank）,a major pillar of the OBOR Initiative,even though it has the participation of Western powers such as the UK,Germany and France.While some countries are still suspicious of China's real objectives,the region and the world are aware that they cannot afford to ignore China's initiative.Although the OBOR is fundamentally an economic project,it will impact on other realms such as diplomacy,politics and even security.

With the OBOR Initiative,China hopes to demonstrate that it represents the spirit of the age of world peace,endorses mutual respect among nations,and strives for openness and inclusiveness.For China,the international strategic significance of this initiative is to facilitate a breakthrough in the security dilemma between China and the US,assume China's regional and international responsibilities as a rising great power and build China's soft power on the world stage.

China's Grand Diplomacy

Since China announced its reform and open-door policy,the country had adopted a low profile foreign policy established by the late Deng Xiaoping.Under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping,China joined the world; with its continuous rise,it is expected by the world community to play a more important role in world affairs.Indeed,from time to time,the leadership has been criticised for not having an overall foreign policy strategy and for adopting a foreign policy which was too reactive to changing international environments.In response,in the new millennium,particularly,since the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party,the Chinese leadership has gradually formulated a grand strategy.

China's grand diplomacy is featured by the so-called “two fronts and one circle”strategy.The “two fronts”include a new type of great powers relationship with countries such as the US,Russia,India and major European countries,and the OBOR Initiative which mainly deals with developing countries; the “one circle”refers to peripheral diplomacy that is mainly related to China's Asian neighbors.These three aspects connect with and reinforce each other.

A New Type of Great Powers Relationship

The new type of great powers relationship is China's foreign policy initiative for developing relations with big powers.[13]While the idea was initially raised for China-US relations,it is also applied to China's relations with Russia,India,and other major powers in Europe and other regions,most of which are also countries along the Belt and Road.From a geopolitical point of view,these great powers could pose serious and vital external threats and challenges to the development of China and the Belt and Road Initiative.Careful handling of these relationships in terms of not only the economy and trade,but also war and peace is thus critical for the implementation of the OBOR Initiative.Since the late Deng Xiaoping,international peace has been regarded as the prerequisite for China's sustainable development.China has to adjust its foreign policy to every change in the international environment in order to maintain international peace and domestic development.For China today,building a new type of great powers relationship with the US，Russia,India and major European countries is essential for achieving a peaceful international environment.

With the rise of China and the relative decline of the US's global dominance,the competition between China and the US has intensified.Despite the interdependence and the hope for arriving at a win-win situation instead of a zero-sum game,historical experiences show that competition among major countries can easily be affected by irrational factors,with unexpected and even adverse results.According to Western theories and experiences of international relations,rising powers often challenge established ones,and the latter often fear and take precautions against the former,leading to a situation known as the Thucydides trap,a term coined by a Greek historian.The metaphor warns of the attendant dangers when a rising power rivals a ruling power—as Athens challenged Sparta in ancient Greece,or as Germany did Britain a century ago.A research team helmed by Graham Allison of the Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs has concluded after analyzing 12 of 16 cases over the past 500 years that the result of such a situation was war.[14]

To Chinese President Xi Jinping,the Thucydides trap between China and the US is not inevitable,and he does not want this to happen.As early as in 2013,China put forward the initiative of a new type of great powers relationship with the US to avoid the Thucydides trap.In September 2015,during his visit to the US,President Xi declared that establishing a new type of great powers relationship with the US,which features non-conflict,non-confrontation,mutual respect and win-win cooperation,is a priority of China's foreign policy.US President Barack Obama,while not accepting President Xi's notion directly,also expressed that both the US and China are capable of managing disagreements and avoiding the Thucydides trap.Over the years,the two countries have largely strived for such a new type of great powers relationship based on their national conditions and global trends,despite their disagreements in various realms.While the US has not joined the AIIB,a major tool of the “Belt and Road”initiative,China has indicated that the door is always wide open for the US.

With Russia,the Belt and Road connects with Western Europe through Central Asia and Eastern Europe,the core of Russia's geopolitical interests.[15]Therefore，while cooperating with Central Asian countries,China has emphasized its cooperation with Russia.[16]One effective multilateral mechanism,the Shanghai Cooperation Organization（SCO）,is already in place in this realm.The SCO is to address the common problems faced by the member countries,such as terrorism，rather than targeting at a third party.It can thus offer some assistance to the OBOR Initiative.In May 2015,during President Xi's visit to Russia,the Chinese and Russian governments issued a joint statement,formally endorsing the synergy between Russia's “Eurasian Economic Union”（EEU）and China's “Silk Road Economic Belt（SREB）”,[17]which is favorable for China to expand cooperation with Russia and Central Asian countries.

With India,the Belt and Road covers Southeast Asia,the Indian Ocean and Africa and impacting on the geopolitical interests of India.In recent years,India has played an important role in the Middle East and Africa,and paid close attention to China's rapid rise and aggressive “going global”approach.[18]The amicable settlement of the territorial disputes between China and India can address divergence in their geopolitical interests and facilitate cooperation.Two facts add weight to such a scenario: China and India have been neighbors for thousands of years without major conflicts,and from a Chinese perspective,the territorial disputes are issues left by Western imperialism.China is likely to take India's geopolitical interests into account when implementing the Belt and Road Initiative.There is thus huge room for cooperation between the two countries.

On China-EU relations,the Belt and Road Initiative extends from Asia to Europe.China and European countries have no direct geopolitical conflict and thrive on mutually beneficial economic and trade relations.Currently,European countries are plagued by weak economic recovery and have attached much importance to China-EU relations at least in economic terms.China's Belt and Road Initiative has thus been warmly received.In March 2015,17 European states,including the United Kingdom（UK）,France,Germany and Italy,joined the AIIB initiated by China.On September 28,2015 the European Commission issued a statement to welcome the connection or integration of the Belt and Road Initiative and the European Investment Plan.[19]A month later in October,during President Xi's state visit to the UK,the two countries agreed to jointly build a “global comprehensive strategic partnership oriented toward the 21st century.”Thereafter from late October to early November 2015,a number of key European leaders including the King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand,German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande visited China in succession.On the eve of Merkel's and Hollande's visits,German and French ambassadors to China jointly published an article in China's Renmin Ribao（People's Daily）stating that the two countries are “China's core partners in the EU.”[20]In November,China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that China had applied to join the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development（EBRD）.[21]Subsequently on December 14,the EBRD Commission adopted a resolution,accepting China's accession to the bank.Meanwhile,the EBRD stated its readiness to cooperate with the AIIB.[22]For the Chinese leadership,this is a “golden age”for China-EU cooperation.While differences prevail between China and the EU over a wide range of policy areas such as the recognition of China's market status and human rights issue,China has been able to deepen its relationship with major EU powers.

The Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative is mainly targeted at developing countries.Although it extends to some developed countries in Europe,most of the over 60 countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road are small and medium-sized developing countries.These countries are mostly more backward than China,and economic development tops their agenda.The Belt and Road Initiative covers multiple areas including trade,finance,infrastructure and culture.China and countries along the routes are in complementarity especially in terms of the drive for economic development.Huge productivity can be released if efforts are effectively combined.Most Belt and Road countries are blessed with rich natural and human resources;they need capital,development experience and technology to fully explore their own resources and overcome such bottlenecks as inadequate infrastructure,small market size,and poor governance.Specifically,China has three major advantages that these countries could tap on.

The first is infrastructure.In the past decades,China has experienced the largest scale of infrastructure building in the world.Indeed,since the reform and opening up,China's development has been marked by large scale of infrastructure construction.Today,China's capability in infrastructure construction is second to none in the world.China is undertaking infrastructure projects such as reservoirs,power plants,ultra high voltage（UHV）grid,deep water ports,airports,industrial parks,traditional railways,high-speed railways,highways and telecommunications networks simultaneously in many countries.It also has the capacity to build transnational infrastructure networks,overcome the obstacle of small domestic market size,and develop intraregional division of labor to form transnational industrial clusters for an entire region（such as Southeast Asia）.Evidently,infrastructure construction is the precondition of every country's industrialization，urbanization and economic take-off.

The second is development experience.During its process of reform and opening-up,China has accumulated rich experience in the areas of economic development,public governance and urban planning to share with countries along the Belt and Road.The fact that China's economic development has been achieved during the reform and opening up in an age of globalization indicates the universality of its experience.China has also benefited from its own learning process,making relevant adjustment and gradually developing its own model of governance suitable for its national conditions.China's experience and lessons learned hence have reference values for many developing countries with similar needs and conditions.While the so-called China model has met with critics from the West,many developing countries have found similarities that they could draw on.

The third is financial advantage.No country in history can promote its grand diplomacy smoothly or “go global”without financial backing.China boasts huge foreign exchange reserves and domestic savings,and has established an independent global payment system.As China has signed currency swap agreements with many countries,the renminbi（RMB）has increasingly become popular as a trade settlement currency.[23]With the impending inclusion of the RMB in the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights（SDR）basket at a share of 10.92 percent,it will accelerate the process of the RMB becoming a freely convertible currency and the world's third-largest currency after the US dollar（41.73 percent）and the euro（30.93 percent）.[24]China hence has the ability to provide developing countries with low-cost financing and credit.

Peripheral diplomacy

Peripheral diplomacy is the core of China's grand diplomacy,which is determined by the special geopolitical environment of the country.The Belt and Road initiative has thus to first connect with China's neighboring areas.

The geopolitical environment of China is unique.Unlike the UK,a maritime state with the British Isles isolated in the Atlantic Ocean,China is both a land power and a maritime power.Compared to the US,which adjoins two much weaker countries,namely,Canada in the north and Mexico in the south,that have to largely rely on the US for their development,China has over 10 neighbors,both land and maritime.China's neighbors include strong powers such as Russia,Japan and India.China's diplomacy has to consider these factors and be both practical and flexible to suit its own geopolitical environment.

Today,most of the hot-spot issues in the realm of international security are in the neighborhood of mainland China.Many of them are directly related to China,including the nuclear issue of North Korea,the Taiwan independence movement,sovereignty disputes over the East and South China Seas,the China-India border dispute,and Afghanistan.In recent years,while old problems and disputes remain unresolved or have even intensified,new ones such as the South China Sea disputes have emerged.These issues may translate into major crises for China if not handled cautiously.

China's periphery is undoubtedly the basis of the Chinese world order.It will have to give strategic priority to its neighboring areas if it is to shape a favorable regional and international order for itself.The crises China has to face in the future are more likely to stem directly from its neighboring small and medium–sized countries,crises that will have a direct and serious impact on the Chinese world order and possibly shake the foundations of China's rise.

Almost all the surrounding countries are countries along the Belt and Road.In the past few years,the Chinese government has strived to maintain good neighborly diplomacy with “amity,sincerity,mutual benefit and inclusiveness”and an“amicable,secure and prosperous neighborhood.”However,translating these ideas and goals into reality has been a herculean task.The Belt and Road Initiative is considered the best approach to materializing these ideas and achieving these goals.

Indeed,for a long time in the past and in the likely future,most of the geopolitical pressures China faces will continue to come from the US even though the two have no direct geopolitical disputes and the two economies are highly interdependent and complementary.Frictions and conflicts between the two countries are more likely to be those between China and US allies that are China's neighbors.This means that building a new type of great powers relationship with the US is inextricably linked to peripheral diplomacy,and China must make progress on both fronts simultaneously.

The Belt and Road Initiative and China's Pursuit of the “Spirit of the Age”

Conforming to the “spirit of the age”is the premise of the rise of a great power,China included.China has been criticized for lacking in “soft power”in world politics.To many in the West,China's diplomacy,particularly in the developing world,is without moral principles.For example,it has been alleged that China has provided unconditional loans and investment to developing countries with authoritarian regimes.With the Belt and Road Initiative,China hopes to not only inherit but also modernize the cultural spirit of the ancient Silk Road,highlight the spirit of the present age featuring peace,mutual respect,openness and inclusiveness.From a Chinese perspective,this spirit-enhancing mechanism is also an essential factor for the successful implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.

“The spirit of the age”was coined by German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel in the nineteenth century.The country either consciously complies with the spirit of the age,or takes the initiative to create the spirit of the age.For the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries,the spirit of the age was free trade which was in line with the megatrends of global economic development at that time.The British Empire relied on free trade to establish a global empire.However,in the process of building the British Empire,what was behind the rhetoric of free trade tended to be blatant conquests by force.The main characteristic of the rise of the British Empire is “merchant ships in front,and gunboats behind”; the East India Company,Opium Wars and colonies were very much part of the British “free trade”.

For the US from the late 19thcentury to the 20thcentury,the spirit of the age was freedom and democracy.After the fall of the British Empire,the US rose to become the world's superpower.It was left far behind by the UK in free trade.Britain was home to economic liberalism and had a deep-rooted awareness of economic liberalism,believing firmly that free trade can lead to a win-win situation.Consequently,the UK often pursued an active and unilateral open-door policy.By contrast,US emphasis was reciprocity; it would not open itself to a country which was closed to the US.[25]

“The spirit of the age”for the US was “freedom and democracy”rather than free trade.Freedom and democracy once endowed America with infinite appeal.The “American dream”was not only the dream of Americans,but also the dream of many poor countries.Nevertheless,like the British Empire,America also used gunboats and violence to bolster its promotion of freedom and democracy to the rest of the world.It imposes sanctions against other countries,solves disputes between countries by force and occupies countries in the name of “freedom and democracy”.The US continues to use this approach today,much burdened by its promise to spread democracy to the rest of the world,a possible reason for in its relative decline.

The rise and fall of the British Empire and the US indicate that “the spirit of the age”is the foundation of the rise of a great power and brings great benefits to the country.However,“the spirit of the age”could not be imposed on others by force as it is not sustainable and would ultimately lead to its decline.

To be a great power,China in the 21stcentury would need to acquire a spirit of the age possibly from its long history of civilization and to modernize it to meet the demands of the time.Specifically,the OBOR Initiative attempts to draw on the valuable experience of the ancient Silk Road and inherit its peaceloving cultural spirit of respecting other countries,reciprocating to realize a win-win situation,and adopting an open and inclusive approach.However,China would not simply duplicate its ancient civilization,or follow the footsteps of the British Empire and the US.It looks to the OBOR Initiative to help it go beyond its own traditions toward a new path of rise while avoiding the AngloAmerican model.

Among great civilizations in the past,the Chinese civilization was the only secular civilization known for its openness and inclusiveness.From China's first emperor Qin Shi Huang,who unified the country,to the prosperity of the Han and Tang dynasties,China had been the most open country in the world.China did not avoid contacts with other countries until the Ming and Qing dynasties.Ancient China built its diplomatic relations in two ways.One was its relationship with neighboring countries,via the tributary system.The other was its approach to engage the world,via the ancient Silk Road.

The tributary system had been in existence for thousands of years before China's encounter with the West in modern times.It began to decline after modern Western imperialist powers penetrated China.In essence,the tributary system was a trading system,[26]with trade being practical and tribute being merely a form.Tributary states regularly sent “gifts”to China and performed the feudal style of kowtowing to the Chinese emperor.In return,tributary states not only received much larger gifts from China,but also obtained the rights to trade with China.Despite its feudal nature,this was in fact a kind of low-cost model of free trade.While Western imperialist powers used gunboats to force China to trade with them,the tributary system was largely symbolic.The kowtow ritual was above criticism at the time as it conformed with ancient practices and was well accepted by all the tributary states.The thousand-year tributary system was reflective of a balance of power situation between ancient China and its tributary states.After Western powers invaded China in the 19th century,the Qing dynasty did not keep pace with “the spirit of the age”and the tributary system came to an end.

By contrast,the ancient Silk Road has not evoked as much debate.At present,the Belt and Road Initiative includes the overland “Silk Road Economic Belt”and the“21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.”Likewise,the ancient Silk Road also consisted of both overland and maritime routes.The overland Silk Road started from China through the expansive areas of Central Asia and the Middle East to Europe.The maritime Silk Road has often been associated with Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas during the Ming Dynasty.In reality,China began to undertake maritime trade,particularly with Southeast Asian countries,as early as in the Qin and Han dynasties,and such trade links had never been interrupted.During the opening periods of the Qin and Han dynasties,and of the Tang and Song dynasties,maritime trade was legal; especially in the Song Dynasty,trade between China and Southeast Asia was even booming.Maritime trade was made illegal and unofficial after the Ming Dynasty implemented maritime prohibition and after Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas.

The tributary system and the Silk Road enabled ancient China to naturally form a regional order,if not international.The way such a regional order was organized embodied China's traditional peace-loving cultural spirit.[27]Regional order was naturally achieved,unlike those achieved through national power or violence.In history,both international relations in the Age of Empires and modern international relations based on nation states after the collapse of empires were predicated on violence.Great powers such as the British Empire,the US and the former Soviet Union,usually resorted to force to establish self-centered regional and international orders,with force playing a fundamental role in these orders.After the establishment of modern Western international order based on nation states,ancient China's naturally formed regional order finally disintegrated.

As a great power,ancient China did not build a self-centered regional order in the same planned manner as did the Western powers even though China called itself a Middle Kingdom（Zhongguo）.Ancient China's international order was naturally formed between China and its neighboring countries in accordance with each other's needs.Ancient China only needed to concern itself with how best to govern this naturally formed order.It had always been “keeping a low profile,”considering trade as the core of its foreign policy and refraining from the use force to subdue its tributary states.Trade was the core of both the tributary system and the ancient Silk Road.The core of the Chinese world order was thus economy and trade.In today's terms,the economic and trade relationship can be explained as a kind of win-win and mutually beneficial relationship.The Belt and Road Initiative hopes to revive the spirit of the ancient Silk Road and build a modern version around it.

Today,with rapid globalization,countries that are more likely to win in international competition are those who are more open and inclusive than those who are more nationalistic.Economically,the former are able to mobilize and efficiently allocate international productive factors for better development.A critical factor for China's great achievements in economic development during the past three decades is its openness.Simply put,China's peaceful rise can be viewed as a rise with openness,one of the spirits of the current age.

Such a new spirit of the age embodies Western philosophies like cultural pluralism and echoes the Chinese traditional ideas of“harmony in diversity”（he'er butong）,“never do to others what you do not want them to do to you”（jisuo buyu,wushi yuren）,and contemporary Chinese foreign policy of“Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.”It is a kind of new value unlike the British Empire's “free trade”idea and America's “freedom and democracy”concept.

At present,the Belt and Road Initiative,the Silk Road Fund（SRF）,and the AIIB are all platforms and tools of regional and international economic development.This is indicative of China's commitment to promoting regional and global economic development,and allowing participating countries to jointly benefit from its rise.This is a strategic move to highlight the spirit of the age.

In addition,China could adopt participatory development and practice the current age's spirit of peace,respect,openness and inclusiveness in two ways.First,by allowing both society and the public in countries along the Belt and Road to participate in the Initiative in various ways and share the gains of economic development.while the opinions of local governments,society,non-governmental organizations,among others would be consulted during the planning stage.Second,by welcoming the participation of other countries,albeit with China playing a lead role,it shows its willingness to share and its disinterest in monopolizing all of the projects.Neutrality and the emphasis on expertise will be the central focus.Foreign companies with strong capabilities and high technological know-how would be invited to ensure the success of the projects.As openness and inclusiveness has traditionally been part of the Chinese cultural spirit,China has the ability to accommodate and coordinate different interests for mutual benefit and win-win situations.

Meanwhile,China enjoys the advantage of being a late developing country,drawing from the experience of other countries,especially those of Western developed countries in the operation of the AIIB and SRF.By promoting domestic development such as developing green industries,controlling environmental pollution,building low-carbon cities,and so forth,China also promote foreign direct investment from the US and Japan and provide technologies and equipment,so that they can continue sharing the dividends of China's economic growth and urbanization.This can also help promote industrial upgrade of the Chinese economy.

International Implications of the Belt and Road Initiative

For China,the Belt and Road Initiative helps it break the security dilemma between China and related countries; achieve a win-win situation for China and other developing countries and fulfill its responsibilities as a great power; and promote China's soft power to the world.

Breaking the Security Dilemma

By developing and strengthening relations between China and other developing countries,the Belt and Road Initiative will help break China's security dilemma,and provide a new driving force for deepening regional economic cooperation.

First,the Initiative provides China with the opportunity to fill a vacuum left by the US in the Middle East,Africa,and Central Asia.While the US has effectively squeezed China's diplomatic space with its “pivot to Asia”strategy,it has also forced the US to direct its strategic resources to East Asia,leading to a relative decline of its strategic capability in areas such as the Middle East,Africa,and Central Asia.China is poised to move in to take its place via the Belt and Road Initiative according to Wang Jisi,dean of School of International Relations at China's Beijing University.While enhancing the economy and trade are its primary objectives,OBOR largely reflects China's foreign policy considerations as a countermeasure for US's pivot to Asia.[28]

Second,the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative will extend ChinaJapan competition to many developing countries along the routes,alleviating their competition in East Asia,and hence the security dilemma between the two countries.Even with the keen competition,from a Chinese perspective,China has an edge over Japan where developing countries are concerned.At present,the advantages of Japan's domestic economic development have largely been exhausted and it could no longer act as the “leading goose”of economic development in the region.Conversely,China's remarkable domestic economic development has boosted its capacity to play such a leading role.

Third,the Belt and Road Initiative will ease tensions in the South China Sea as it generates common interests and the necessity for cooperation among claimant states.Fourth,the initiative is also expected to help solve China's security dilemma with the West.Western nations prefer not to accept Chinese capital and products with the excuse that it “threatens national security.”The Belt and Road Initiative will divert China's trade and investment focus to the developing countries,filling the vacuum caused by the economic and trade frictions with the West.[29]

Assuming Responsibilities as a Great Power

As the world's largest developing country,China will fully explore the opportunities of its complementarities with developing countries along the Belt and Road and realize mutually beneficial and win-win outcomes,while shouldering more responsibilities as a great power.In this sense,the Belt and Road Initiative is an approach for China to go international and assume more regional and global responsibilities.[30]

The Initiative is also crucial for China's sustainable development.While China needs to adjust its economic structure,the country can also give full play to the role of external economic factors.Historically,in the transformation to become economic powers,developed countries in the West had capitalized on external economic factors,often resorting to policies of colonialism and imperialism,Current circumstances have dictated that China pursue a new path,such as the Belt and Road Initiative,that features mutual respect,common development,and winwin cooperation with other developing countries.

With the huge amount of capital surplus that it has accumulated over the years,China is looking for areas to further grow its financial resources which are currently saved in banks and at risk of devaluation.While it will continue to invest domestically,it will accelerate its pace of “going global,”with the scale of the country's overseas investment becoming larger.As it implements the Belt and Road Initiative,China wants to translate its huge capital into investment in order to increase its value; on the other hand,countries along the routes could utilize China's capital to accelerate their domestic construction and promote economic development.

The Belt and Road Initiative will also pave the way for mature Chinese products to enter overseas markets and transfer surplus capacity in China to where it is most needed.A win-win situation as it will promote the adjustment of China's industrial structure while helping the economic development of these countries.[31]In this process,the transnational operation capacity of Chinese enterprises can also be comprehensively increased.

For developing countries,the introduction of external economic factors（capital and technology）could work in combination with internal factors（cheap labor and rich natural resources）to greatly stimulate their economic development,and upgrade China's economic ties with Southeast Asia,South Asia,Central Asia,the Middle East,and Africa,and promote regional economic development.

Despite their advanced economies,Western countries today are facing development bottlenecks.Even for those with the capacity to offer assistance,their foreign aid and investment often come attached with political and ideological conditions,which more often than not seriously restrict the development of developing countries.China's foreign investment and assistance are offered with no strings attached.China has made it clear that the principle of its foreign investment in the Belt and Road Initiative is joint development.It believes that China's development would only be sustainable if other developing countries are prospering as well.

Building China's Soft Power

The Belt and Road Initiative offers an opportunity and platform for China to extend its soft power to the world.It strives to share its experience of development to other developing countries,especially its experience of utilizing both market and government power in its reform and opening-up.

Many developing countries,especially former colonies,are under huge pressure to promote economic development.After gaining independence,they continued to rely on the developed economies of the West.This is because former colonizers continue to affect the development of the newly independent states.This model has not been successful,if not failed.Since the 1980s,the West has started to promote the “Washington Consensus”,or chiefly Western development experience,among developing countries,which is more often than not unsuitable for developing countries.

China's experience offers an alternative development model.Its transformation from an extremely poor country to the second-largest economy in the world within just over three decades is nothing short of remarkable.Its feat in poverty reduction through development and integration with the world economy has also won praises from the World Bank.Developing countries found relevance in China's experience which is modified from lessons learnt from the West.

Concluding remarks

After more than three decades of reform and opening-up,China has emerged as a world power.The geopolitical and international situation facing China today requires the country to “go global”and safeguard its national interests on the world stage,while it shoulders responsibilities as a great power.In the process,China has met with huge challenges,which need to be tackled by grand diplomatic strategies.The Belt and Road Initiative is China's first major and extensive foray into the world.China considers this huge venture as a “test”of its diplomatic skills as it rises.