The most recently-concluded 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) has achieved “remarkable” socio-economic, geopolitical and geostrategic importance. The participation of more than 140 countries, 30 international organizations, fetching “US$ 98” billion in foreign direct investment and, last but not least, Xi’s new “eight action plans” for the next decade have further strengthened the role of the BRI in all member countries.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his keynote speech, emphasized the green transformation of the BRI, which is indeed a good “omen” for socio-economic integration and the fight against the looming threat of global warming. His well-drafted speech is, in fact, the new “roadmap” for the BRI in the next ten years.
President Xi rightly highlighted the importance and benefits of economic interdependence and win-win cooperation, firmly believing in China’s success. Xi “pledged” to continue international cooperation, economic globalization, modernization, openness and digitalization in the next decade.
In this regard, the most recently published report by the IMF (November 2023) clearly demonstrates the economic contribution of the Chinese economy (30 percent) during 2023, also reconfirming its positive and productive role in the world economy which will also be useful for BRI member countries in the future.
Obviously, the Chinese modernization is an “integrated” process involving all member countries, particularly developing countries, based on peaceful development, mutual cooperation and shared prosperity.
According to Chinese data, since its inception in 2013, the BRI has generated 420,000 jobs for participating countries and lifted about 40 million people out of poverty. It has also completed more than 5,000 projects in the member countries. Its constructed bridges, rails, and ports have now become hubs of connectivity, stimulators of multiculturalism, and facilitators of qualitative industrialization among the BRI member countries. It has fostered trans-regional connectivity and succeeded in removing all barriers to achieving the desired goals of peace, prosperity, and the development of human capital.
President Xi has outlined a “new grand strategy” for further development of the BRI through the implementation of his new eight major steps to support the joint pursuit of a high-quality BRI. This includes new plans for transnational and inter-regional road connectivity, the development of new Eurasian logistics channels to integrate ports, shipping, and trading services under the “Silk Road Maritime,” and the building of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and the Air Silk Road.
It is a reality that China’s rapid economic growth has been a major source of inspiration for all developing countries to pursue an independent modernization path that best suits their national conditions.
Unfortunately, the prevailing international system of engagement created by the West has “debarred” developing countries from the desired modernization. The BRI has now become an additional source of development funding, an alternative to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and has helped many developing countries speed up their march towards modernization.
Thus BRI stands for true “financial integration” and befitting funding negating spillover socio-economic and geopolitical repercussions of the western protectionism, economic exploitation and political manipulations.
Comparative study of the prevailing regional as well as international scenarios i.e. Russia-Ukraine conflict, Israel-Palestine war, South China Sea, military alliances in the Asia-Pacific region, continued tightening of the US Federal Reserve interest rate, anti-globalization, unilateral sanctions, investment/technological bans, economic coercion, decoupling or de-risking and supply chain disruption instigated by the US-led West, have further slowed the pace and prospects of quick global economic recovery. On the contrary, the Chinese BRI has been dubbed as project of the 21st century definitely, creating mutually beneficial propositions for all the member countries.
In addition, Biden Administration has exaggerated the concept of “National Security” to further develop the US domestic industries and restrict the development path of developing countries such as China through sponsored national narratives of “China Contain & Collapse Theories” by cooking up the so-called “China threat”.
In this connection, the critical analysis of Bidenomics reveals that it has miserably failed to achieve the desired goals of neoliberalism, the free-trade, laissez-faire economic priorities shared by Republican and Democratic Administrations for decades. Even important issues like global warming and geopolitical risks has scooped out America’s industrial and economic foundation and left the country dangerously susceptible to supply chains dominated by hostile nations, especially China.
In this context, Bidenomics has purposefully started a national campaign to form and implement a new industrial policy through a more assertive federal government to direct private capital toward favored sectors vital to national interests via regulations, subsidies and other interventions. Resultantly, Biden has pursued and accelerated the left over policies of the Trump Administration’s mistakes pertaining to tariffs, export controls, subsidies and “Buy American” policies. Thus ultimately Bidenonmics has further institutionalized economic protectionism and geopolitical manipulations.
To achieve this goal and further strengthening of its punitive economic policies against China, the US Congress has allocated billions of dollars of subsidies for semiconductors, renewable energy and infrastructure, for example, about $53 billion was channeled via the Chips and Science Act toward manufacturing while about $3 trillion was offered under the Inflation Reduction Act for renewable energy technology. Therefore seemingly end goal is to hurt and contain China.
Furthermore, it fears that Bidenomics toward re-industrialization may create serious problems for the US economy. Unfortunately, by discarding true spirits of the free trade and free market capitalism in favor of Keynesian interventionism, Bidenomics is likely to distort price signals via tariffs or environmental decrees. Increasing production/business costs, more frequent labour strikes, and deteriorated the US’s international competitiveness under the Biden administration are unlikely to result in a sustainable increase in manufacturing capacity or jobs in America.
It is crystal clear that Bidenomics has increased ratios of poverty, unemployment and social chaos in the US economy and society alike. The US annual census data (September 2023) indicates the real so-called success story of Bidenomics. According to said report, income inequality has been further widened as compare to 2019-2020 and 2021-2022. Its middle class has been further marginalized. Moreover, lower-income Americans has been further marginalized more than the affluent.
In summary, on the contrary to Bidenomics, China is on the path of green transformation, economic stability/sustainability, technological modernization, and digitalization to develop and consolidate its domestic industry and supply chains and reduce dependence on US technology and products. It predicts that Xi’s newly announced Global Initiative of AI Governance would a value addition in this regard.
Right from the beginning, China has never been engaged in any Cold War mentality, formation of any bloc politics, ideological confrontation and geopolitical/geostrategic power politics. It strongly opposes imposition of unilateral sanctions, economic intimidation, decoupling, de-risking and disruption of supply chains and last but not least, viewing others’ development as a threat or taking economic interdependence as a risk will be good for the regional connectivity and global economic cooperation and recovery in the future.
BRI, and Xi’s global development, global security, global civilizational and global AI Governance Initiatives will be powerhouse of global economy in the next decade. Thus Xiconomics has great future.
