7 Oct 2016

One Belt One Road and the Implications for China-EU Relations

By ThinkChina, University of Copenhagen

In this policy brief, Professor François Godement, Director of ECFR’s Asia & China Programme, discusses the background and future of the Chinese Government’s One Belt One Road initiative.  Godement concludes, among other things, that Europe’s overemphasis on internal competition stands in the way of the coordinated effort that could leverage China’s aims.

The Policy Brief:

• Argues that China’s recent initiatives to boost overseas investment, e.g. AIIB and the National Development Bank, are not game-changing developments for the international financial architecture, but present strong competition for pre-existing international funders, and a potential investment over-supply in Asia.

• Asserts that China does not want to emphasize the geopolitical aims of OBOR, even though these were often cited in the first phase of the initiative.

• States that European policy towards China is intrinsically weak – whether in terms of collective bargaining and leverage, or on principled stands.

• Contends that China retains a massive current account surplus, and a fear of re-evaluation of the yuan.

 
Please click to read full report.