'One belt one road' and China's westward pivot : past, present and future.

Abstract

Report from the DIIS-Durham University Conference ‘One Belt, One Road and China’s Westward Pivot’ links China’s contemporary geopolitical and economic ambitions of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative with the country’s historical, cultural and lingual heritages of the ancient Silk Road. By bringing together a distinguished group of international experts, the conference examines the OBOR and the Silk Road from an interdisciplinary perspective and multiple viewpoints, including international relations, political economy, China’s development politics, archaeological and historical evidence, and transcultural flows. In particular, the conference aims to address the following key questions: What are China’s objectives in launching OBOR and how is OBOR seen from Central and Western Asian perspectives? To what extent the historical memory and cultural identities define the success or failure of OBOR and China’s other initiatives in Central and Western Asia? How does the current discourse about the historic Silk Road link with ‘One Belt One Road’? How does the Chinese model of development and modernisation sit with its vision for projection of power and alleged ‘exporting’ of the Chinese model to Eurasia? In what ways, economic interdependence and trade links promote or hinder peace and security in China and Eurasia region?