The Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia : understanding China's foreign policy objectives in the region

Abstract

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is widely acknowledged as a crucial foreign policy tool of China. This paper seeks to determine the success of the BRI in meeting the three main foreign policy objectives of Chinese President Xi Jinping, when implementing his ambitious project. Through analysing qualitative data of three key BRI projects in Southeast Asia, the paper established that the BRI was able to meet China’s geo-political objective of bolstering its influence in the region and curbing the rise of Japan and India in Southeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific. Moreover, the analysis of existing literature also revealed that China have utilised the project to sustain its economic growth by opening new markets overseas and exporting its excess goods and capital. Yet, the BRI proved to be less than effective in helping China project itself as a global norms maker in the region. The paper concludes with some policy recommendations for China to enhance its image as an alternative global norms maker to the US.