The belt and road initiative and its implications for China's global aspirations in the 21st century

Das Projekt ‚Belt and Road Initiative‘ ist eine der wichtigsten diplomatischen Initiativen der Volksrepublik China. Im Rahmen des Projekts will China eine Handelszone zwischen Westeuropa und China erschaffen. Diese Diplomarbeit analysiert die Beziehungen Chinas mit den USA, der EU, der Russischen Föderation und anderen Ländern. Darüber hinaus wird diskutiert ob China durch das Projekt die gegenwärtige US-dominierte globale politische Ordnung verändern will. Die politischen Folgen dieses wirtschaftlichen Projekts werden analysiert, im Hinblick der zunehmenden Globalisierung Chinas im 21. Jahrhundert. Die Diplomarbeit kommt zu dem Schluss, dass die globale politische Vorherrschaft Chinas nicht wahrscheinlich ist, aber das Projekt tiefgreifende politische Veränderungen herbeiführen kann.The Belt and Road Initiative is one of the most important foreign policy priorities of the Peoples’ Republic of China. Through the project, China is trying to revive the ancient Silk Road, and to create an extended economic and commercial belt stretching between China and Western Europe. In the framework of this economic belt, China aims to invest in the infrastructure of participating states, increase its trade volume with its partners and strengthen cultural cooperation in the form of scholarships for foreign students to study in China. A key element of the initiative is that China does not consider itself its main element and beneficiary, merely the initiator. Thus, the thesis examines whether the Belt and Road Initiative mainly serves Chinese interests, and what effect this project will have on China’s increasing globalization in the 21st century. Through analysis of China’s relations with the United States, the European Union and the Russian Federation, among other actors, the thesis seeks to uncover whether China is trying to change the current US-dominated world order and if it is seeking regional and global hegemony. The thesis thus analyzes the classic tributary system, a China-centered international structure that existed in East Asia throughout the history of the region. The thesis will contrast the Belt and Road Initiative as an economic initiative with the tributary system as a historical-political structure, and will underline similar and different features between the two. Thus, the thesis will make assumptions about what the political spillovers of this economic initiative could be and whether China intends to achieve political goals with the Belt and Road Initiative, apart from economic benefits, especially with regards to the country’s increasing globalization in the 21st century. The thesis concludes that a hegemonic takeover of China in global politics is not likely, although the Belt and Road Initiative has the capacity to bring about profound changes in the international political scene