Strategists say Belt and Road Initiative benefits the US: report

Think tanks in the United States have an increasingly plurality of views in regard to the Belt and Road Initiative. With the deepening of their research on the Belt and Road alongside increasing support for the initiative from the international community, attitudes have changed towards the initiative, according to a report on the Belt and Road Initiative and Sino-US relations issued by the Pangoal Institution, a Beijing-based public policy think tank, on Nov. 4.

The report quotes researchers from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations and United States National Security Council as saying that the United States should not over-react to the initiative, but take it seriously as an important proposal of China, and conduct in-depth analysis on it; the initiative will not necessarily lead to a zero-sum game between China and the U.S.; the initiative provides new opportunities for the two countries to expand their cooperation.

The report quoted a paper published by the Brookings Institution in February which suggests that China does not intend to overthrow the current international order, and just wants to play a bigger role in it, adding new content to current orders.

Some experts on China affairs have urged the Trump administration to actively respond to the initiative, and encourage China to make a greater contribution to solving common challenges of humankind and the modern world, such as disaster relief, epidemic prevention and control and the refugee crisis.

Experts have also advised Washington to rethink China’s positive role in providing for international public goods, and the possibility of attending the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank which China initiated.

The report said that the Atlantic Council’s research finds that the Belt and Road Initiative provides a new platform for cooperation with China in maintaining regional stability in the Middle East, and improving communications and coordination on resource security with China. The Belt and Road should be part of the dialogue mechanism between the two governments.