Chinese Dream
Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the Boao Forum on March 28 and said that China will grow together with its neighboring countries so that China’s development can have substantially positive effects on them. He also quoted the saying “A good neighbor is better than a distant cousin,” implying that China is aiming to take the place of the U.S. as the center of the politics and economy of the world.
His confidence is based on the fact that a number of allies of the U.S. opted to join the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) despite opposition from Washington that is leading the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank. Britain was the first Western country to join the bank and it was followed by Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Korea, and Australia. Taiwan and Brazil are expected to jump on the bandwagon, too. A total of 35 countries are predicted to accede by the application deadline of March 31.
Under the circumstances, President Xi Jinping expressed confidence in his so-called One Road Project. “More than 60 countries and international organizations have already shown positive opinions as to the project, and many infrastructure works are well underway, with the AIIB and the Silk Road Fund getting off to a good start,” he mentioned.
The One Road Project was unveiled when he visited Kazakhstan in 2013. It can be summarized as China’s future strategy based on the Silk Road from China to Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe and the maritime route to and from China, Southeast Asia, India, Africa, and Europe.
The 60 or so countries located along the paths have a combined population of more than 4.4 billion, and their economic aggregate amounts to US$21 trillion, which is equivalent to 29 percent of the global total. China is looking to procure energy sources and natural resources from the region, while taking the leadership in Eurasia and addressing the problem of a production glut by means of the project.
China is planning to invest US$110 billion in the project, US$50 billion via the AIIB, US$40 billion from the Silk Road Fund and US$20 billion via loans to ASEAN member countries. “We will increase our imports and overseas investment to at least US$10 trillion and US$500 billion each for five years to come, and the number of outbound tourists from China will exceed 500 million a year sooner or later,” he continued.