The historic Silk Road town of Kashgar remains a political and commercial center. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Chinese-initiated “Belt and Road Initiative” is expected to benefit many countries all over the world, but not as much as it would provide better business for state-owned enterprises in the country.
A commentary from CNBC's Dr. Michael Ivanovitch explained that the highly commendable project proposed by China is good not only for the countries that have jumped in to get a bite of the benefits of the modern "Silk Road."
This proves that while China has promised it would not be the only one benefitting from the project, it goes without saying that the Asian giant has a surefire win should the initiative bear fruit.
The B&R Initiative Agenda
China is obviously going to benefit from the "Belt and Road Initiative," but what is unclear is to what extent.
Critics cited by the Bangkok Post said that Beijing is going for a bigger role as a global superpower. With this in mind, having a direct link to major countries may not only boost its economic power, but also its political clout in both the Western and Eastern hemisphere.
At the end of the Silk Road project, South East Asian countries in particular may be among the nations to end up in debt with China for providing a project that would push their economic growth forward.
"Many ASEAN countries are rich in resources but lacking in construction funding which slows our economic growth, causing an infrastructure deficit and resulting in a low level of industrial development," the Philippines' SM Investments Corporation Vice-Chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson told the outlet.
She further noted that the B&R Initiative is probably a direct response to the ASEAN countries' cry for help.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has since clarified that the "Belt and Road Initiative" is not "expansionism, but rather as an open initiative creating opportunities for the world," the People's Daily reported.
China's Benefits
Aside from what has been mentioned above, Ivanovitch said that China can benefit from the New Silk Road project through other means like the easing up of growth of state-owned enterprises as well as an increase in the Chinese people's income.
According to him, hundreds of Chinese citizens were employed in the B&R Initiative as well as other joint-venture projects with countries that agreed to support the New Silk Road.
For example, about 600 Chinese are working in Uzbekistan to make sure all 70 projects that are partially funded by China with about $6.5 billion become a success.
