ZHAO Yongsheng: Clarity needed on nature of Belt and Road projects

The One Belt and One Road initiative advanced by Chinese President Xi Jinping is an unprecedented strategy in the modern history of China. But there are certain issues that China needs to pay attention to in order to avoid the initiative being misread by some countries as a philanthropic project. Some countries might hope to pay lower prices to Chinese partners or impose harsher terms on projects categorized as Belt and Road projects.

Therefore, it is necessary and essential for Chinese authorities to clearly communicate the nature and objective of the initiative to countries along the route so that they understand the projects under the initiative are not part of a political task that China must accomplish at any cost. On the contrary, these projects must be operated in full accordance with market rules.   

First, we should be clear that the Belt and Road plan is an initiative instead of a "treasure box." It is encouraging that while the list of Belt and Road projects is long, we can always add other projects. It also reflects the enthusiasm that Chinese local authorities have for this unprecedented initiative.

A "low-key" attitude should also be adopted with regard to propaganda and mass media activities.

The "low-profile" attitude is necessary because the previous publicity for the Belt and Road plan has created difficulties for Chinese firms in executing the strategy. After an empirical survey thanks to the help of senior managers at various firms, I can argue that more and more overseas projects by Chinese enterprises operating in the field of large-scale infrastructure face a serious situation now: Most of their foreign local partners including local governments have started to impose new conditions, and some countries have even postponed or suspended the process of project collaboration just because the projects have been or will be included in the Belt and Road initiative. 

In fact, the logic of these overseas partners and foreign authorities is not difficult to understand. Before entering the Belt and Road initiative, projects to build roads or bridges were deemed to be in the name of and for the benefit of this or that country's local government. However, after the inclusion of the project in the Belt and Road initiative, foreign governments will naturally consider Chinese enterprises or China as beneficiaries of the project also. Logically, in their eyes, the Chinese party should then assume more responsibilities, particularly financial responsibilities, because the project is part of China's Belt and Road initiative, even though it is also these countries' Belt and Road plan because it benefits them sometimes more than China.

Therefore, the most important and urgent thing for Chinese authorities to do now is to be clear about the real nature of this kind of collaboration project - it is just a commercial project based on mutual benefits, and cooperation under the initiative should involve sharing of risks and benefits. Otherwise, a Belt and Road project might be seen by China's overseas partners as an "aid" or "half-aid" project.

The Belt and Road initiative has almost nothing to do with the US as, geographically speaking, it refers to the Eurasian Continent.

Even so, we shall not ignore the US' influence. Personally, I imagine that the high-profile nature of the Belt and Road strategy has awakened US vigilance toward China's challenge in terms of global strategy.

And the Americans may prompt Asian and European countries to get the wrong impression that Chinese enterprises are building for China a kind of passage for future economic and political "invasions."

In order to clear up these sorts of misunderstandings, China should adopt a low-key attitude in the publicity for the Belt and Road initiative, keep the initiative at the strategic and theoretical level, limit the amount of projects involved and avoid political connotations as far as possible. As the old Chinese proverb says, "Less talk and more action is the key to success."

The author is Zhao Yongsheng, a Paris-based economist and professor, and vice-president of the Paris-based China-France Association of Lawyers and Economists. Contact: jacques.zhao@163.com