OBOR
Introduction
that it is going to be a game changer not just for China, but for all the stakeholders. The approximate costs that will incur are an astronomical $21.1 trillion6and they resonate with the winds of change of prosperity, which are forecasted to propel to new zenith some 65 economies constituting more than 80 per cent of the world‟s population.
As we can see on the above map, the route for the MSR will have its formal origin from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan province, and will be connected through various sea ports in the South China Sea, Andaman Sea, Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf and it will terminate at the Baltic Sea.
Under the umbrella of the OBOR, we have the second component the SREB. Within the SREB assorted projects including overland communication infrastructure will comprise rails connections and paved roads/highways. Among them are; the China-Mongolia-Russia Land Corridor, the China-India-Bangladesh-Myanmar Corridor, the China-Central Asia-West Asia Corridor, and, as the Chinese President Xi Jinping put it exclusively for China‟s “all-weather strategic partner” Pakistan: the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). These corridors over land can also be seen on the above map. The CPEC is outlined in red color.There is an old Chinese saying “If you want to be rich, you must first build roads”. Within this proverb lies embedded the unambiguous sagacity that this entire scheme does not merely involve building roads, laying railway tracks, constructing communication lines and either setting up or revamping ports, but it calls for developing the entire infrastructure for regional economic development.The financing for the endeavour will come from various sources, namely, the Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), the BRICS New Development Bank, and the Silk Road Fund. Additionally, the China-ASEAN Interbank Association and SCO Interbank Association will render finances.
Anxiety over China’s Growing Influence:
The OBOR will have a tremendous impact on the world at large and China has been at the forefront of Asia‟s connectivity drive and putting together trade investment mechanisms and keeping routes viable and upgrading infrastructure. Though these activities are largely appreciated, but there is still anxiety among various countries that are skeptical about
China‟s intentions in terms of geopolitical gains and desires for global domination. All these activities are for promoting global trade and there is no country in the world which can deny this fact and even these skeptical observers share the same beliefs of trade promotion across the globe.The groundless opposition and apprehensions of countries became evident at the time when AIIB was being launched and countries like Australia and a few others started to show hesitation when it came to applying for membership.9It is evident that some countries are doubtful whether China will be able to deliver, while others give vent to conspiracy theories and perceive Chinese benevolence as positioning for China‟s global dominance. Many of the academic work of scholars highlighting the shifting of the world order are also twisted and presented in a way to spread fear. Like in the case of Martin Jacques, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics, in his book “When China Rules the World” observes:“For over two hundred years we have lived in a western-made world, one where the very notion of being modern was synonymous with being western. The twenty-first century will be different: with the rise of increasingly powerful non-Western countries, the West will no longerbedominant and there will be many ways of being modern. In this new era of „contested modernity‟ the central player will be China.”10 Such excerpts from academic works are taken out of context and are used to spread anxiety and fear in the west which results in shaping negative opinion about China in the Western world. Even the politically elected leaders do not shy away from making statements that mar the image of China. President Obama in an interview to Thomas Friedman
of New York Times observed that Chinese are “free riders” in the global system, “And they have been free riders for the last 30 years and it‟s worked really well for them.”
The truth of the matter of USA‟s fear can be summed up in the pretentious view the US policy makers took of China. They underestimated the Chinese economy and they took it for a blade of grassin the backyard which keeps growing and notice it only when it has grown enough and that it is time to mow the yard. That is exactly what
has happened with the West. They tried to curb China‟s influence with their China containment policy only to notice that China is not a blade of grass, rather it is an economic giant and will not roll over. This unexpected truth coupled with western hubris is the cause for much of the apprehensions towards the OBOR and all its projects and institutions on all platforms whether they be political, international, media and even academic. USA made no secret of its opposition to the new bank, AIIB. In quiet conversations with China‟s potential partners, American officials
lobbied against the development bank with unexpected determination and engaged in a vigorous campaign to persuade important allies to shun the project, according to senior government officials in the USA.12
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