Of particular note in this week’s Silk Road news items is the new UK government’s Silk Road plan. The article by Belt and Road Portal [UK government outlines Belt and Road plans] points to the details of the plan and the reasoning why BRI matters to the UK. As for the reasoning, “The world economy is pivoting towards China – fast," said Baroness Fairhead, the UK Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion. “It adds the equivalent of Norway to its GDP every seven months. That is an opportunity we must seize. That's certainly the government's view, and it has been for a long time.” As for the concrete plans, the UK finance ministry has formed a BRI Expert Board which will generate and recommend policies to “help crowd-in private sector capital and expertise.” Immediate policy plans concern cooperation and investment with third parties, for instance, in Kazakhstan and Thailand.
In other news, China is increasing its presence and investment in a new frontier: South America. The article by China Dialogue [Chinese infrastructure in Latin America: A new frontier] reviews a book published on the topic. The article points to investment and prosperity prospects of such Chinese investment but makes a clear warning against the perils of such investments in the region. China is going through a learning curve, as it did not respond adequately to local regulations and concerns, especially environmental and labor issues that produced local backlash against China. If China can learn from its past mistakes, then it can be “filling a vacuum as a source of much needed investment” in the region.
M. Forough
This week's Silk Road Headlines
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