![]() ![]() Sourced from This is a deliberate policy designed to generate wealth in China’s central and western provincial hinterland, which has lagged significantly behind the post-Mao development of China’s eastern seaboard.Ī big part of this is driven by political and economic self-interest imperatives. The ‘New Silk Road’ refers back to a golden age of imperial China. ![]() The “New Silk Road” is a direct ideological appeal to the heart of the Chinese people and harks back to a golden age of imperial Chinese civilisation, evoking powerful imagery of China as an enabler of world trade. Xi Jinping’s foray into this fascinating area of foreign policy is just as much about appealing to a domestic political audience as it is about building China’s global influence and countering US hegemonic power. The Middle East’s position as China’s bridge between Asia and Europe is a critical part of the Chinese government’s pitch to embed a “New Silk Road” as a centrepiece of its economic policy.įrom building a new rail link that will connect central China’s emerging logistics and manufacturing hub of Chengdu to Germany, to building the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as an enabler of regional currency convertibility and transport agreements to bolster regional trade, Central Asia and the Greater Middle East are emerging as key pillars of Chinese foreign policy. On the sidelines of the G20 summit in St Petersburg, China’s deputy finance minister contended that a US$10 increase in the price of crude oil could trim 0.25% off global growth.Īs China’s new leadership consolidates its grasp on power and grapples plateauing industrial output and single digit GDP numbers as the new norm, an international conflict would seriously undermine the fundamentals of the Chinese economy and dent the Communist Party’s credibility. It was about stabilising export markets and keeping the lid on consumer prices, rather than an ideological commitment to the sanctity of international consensus or a belief in the efficiency of the UN Security Council. As intense negotiations between Moscow and Washington draw to a close, the Chinese Government will be heaving a sigh of relief that diplomacy seems to have triumphed over the use of force in Syria.Ĭhina’s pleas to the international community to solve the crisis through dialogue were all about the leadership’s obsession with maintaining economic growth.
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