The Belt and Road initiative: the issue of skepticism and China's possible response

Four years have passed since the Belt and Road Initiative was officially unveiled to the world by Chinese President Xi Jinping. This mega Chinese project, strongly wanted by Xi, represents China's attempt to go West and to grab the sea of opportunities that the countries along the route can offer to its development process. China wants to create a large intercontinental market where goods can travel faster, more efficiently and more economically. Two commercial routes were designed for this purpose: a Silk Road Economic Belt and a Maritime Silk Road, stretching from China to Europe and passing through Central Asia, the Indian Ocean and East Africa. Some projects are already operational, such as the freight rail route linking Chongqing, southwest of China, to the German city of Duisburg, while others, such as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are under construction, and many other projects will take shape in the coming years. The size of the Chinese initiative is enormous, as is the amount of money that will be spent to complete it (about $ 1 trillion); but despite the delays in implementing some projects, the Chinese Communist Party expects the Belt and Road to be complete by 2049, to mark the 100th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. China has great confidence in the success of its Initiative and to promote it has organized in Beijing the first Belt and Road Forum in May 2017, attended, amongst other, by 29 heads of state, as well as by delegates from various international organizations. Although the Belt and Road Forum has been fairly successful, and China has managed to conclude agreements with several countries, it is also true that some countries continue to have doubts and show skepticism towards the Chinese Initiative. This is the case, for example, of India, regarding the implementation of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor which passes through Kashmir, a turbulent region on which both India and Pakistan claim their sovereignty. Or the United States, which, although not part of the regions covered by the Belt and Road, can play an important role in its realization. Especially American companies can in fact play a role in banking, financial support, consulting, construction, infrastructure engineering and manufacturing within the many Belt and Road projects. However, the United States have some doubts about the geopolitical intentions underlying the Chinese Initiative, and are concerned that this could endanger their world leadership. The European Union also looks at Belt and Road with mixed feelings. In particular, it is well known the importance that the EU attributes to international standards, and therefore it remains concerned about commercial feasibility, transparency, sustainability and environmental impact of the Initiative. Although many other countries have expressed criticism and perplexities about Belt and Road, and each of them have their own reasons, I decided to focus on the points of view of the United States, India and the European Union, which play top-level roles in the international context. To understand the causes of this skepticism and explore the role that Europe, the United States, and India could play with a most proactive participation in the Chinese project is the goal of the first part of my research. China is aware that the way in which its initiative is perceived by other countries is of crucial importance and can be decisive in the long run to determine its success.