Американська історія і політика (Nov 2017)
China`s «One Belt – One Road» Initiative and Strategic Challenges to the USA
Abstract
At first glance the basis of the Initiative “One Belt – One Road” voiced by Chinese leader Xi Jinping is composed of geo-economics’ vectors. Cooperation within the framework of the two silk routes will be complemented by social and political dynamics. Although the initiative encompasses three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe, its development is of global significance and can be a fundamental factor of changes in the world order, where the influence of the US and the West can be called system-forming. The author of the article tries to prove that the positive development of the Initiative may become a paradigm of world development that is not rather competitive but in many ways complementary with the Western one. Implementing the Initiative China, by means of this project, can prove the productivity of its own values of progress. The visions of US Global Strategy and the Grand China Strategy under D. Trump’s administration remain uncertain. The isolationist and protectionist values of the American president can further undermine the credibility and effectiveness of the international institutions, projects and programs under the auspices by the United States. Washington will be forced to build somehow a concrete model of approach to the Initiative, as it affects the regions and countries that are sensitive to American interests. Moreover the Initiative shapes a soft alternative source of financial and investment assistance and is aimed at creating fundamentally new mechanisms and formats of international cooperation.
