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This paper examines the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on China's political influence in international affairs, as mediated by Chinese economic integration with the BRI countries. We propose that the BRI plays a role in influencing partner countries to support China's presence in the international community, and the economic integration of the BRI positively mediates the willingness of partner countries to align with China in international affairs. This paper uses panel data from 147 BRI countries collected between 2009 and 2020, and the difference-in-differences method, to estimate the political influence of the BRI. The results suggest that the BRI motivates partner countries to support the growth of China's influence in international affairs. The results of the causal mechanism analysis indicate that a significant and positive association between the implementation of the BRI and China's influence is mediated by promoting Chinese contracts, trade overseas, and outward FDI. The examinations of heterogeneity demonstrate that BRI countries that are developing, non-landlocked, non-neighboring, having signed the memorandum of understanding or cooperation memorandum of understanding, or lacking a Chinese investment guide are more likely to support China's political presence. This paper concludes with insights into how China implements the BRI to enhance its political ascent in the global order by facilitating economic integration of the BRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More and more Chinese enterprises have participated in the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) since its launch in 2013. However, have they all actually benefited? Which companies otherwise have benefited most from the plan? To answer these questions, this paper analyzes the impact of the BRI on Chinese enterprises. Among several findings, it reveals that the performance of companies remained low even though the initiative policy initially stimulated performance, the performance of enterprises depends on the geographical location of enterprises and that the returns of China's outward foreign direct investment in various industries became more volatile with only the mining industry enjoying better returns. Thus, the paper shows that the BRI offers Chinese enterprises opportunities but also brings challenges for companies to optimize the allocation of their resources and improve the performance of their investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the textile trade data of 66 countries along the Belt and Road from 2001 to 2020, this paper uses the social network analysis method to measure the network centrality, uses the block model method to investigate the competitive and complementary relationship of textile trade among countries along the Belt and Road, and uses the QAP method to analyze the structure of textile trade network and its influencing factors. The results show that since the implementation of the "Belt and Road" Initiative, the density of textile trade network has increased significantly, and the network presents an obvious core-edge structure. China has always been in the center of textile trade network. Before and after the "Belt and Road" Initiative is put forward, core countries such as China, India and Thailand changed from internal sector to two-way overflow sector, and textile trade competition existed among core countries. The influencing factors on the textile trade network of countries along the Belt and Road are, in descending order, economic scale, regional trade agreements between countries, population scale, cultural proximity and geographical distance. Based on the research conclusions and combined with the textile trade network pattern of the Belt and Road countries, this paper puts forward relevant policy suggestions to promote high-quality development of textile trade between China and "The Belt and Road" countries from the perspective of social network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how Chinese transnational investments, as (re)framed in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), contribute to changes in urbanisation processes in Southeast Asia. On the ground, the BRI becomes contextualised and intersects with local and national development trajectories. The growing presence of Chinese actors in the region intensifies urban dynamics, especially in secondary cities and emerging urban sites, where the BRI is used as a lever for local internationalisation strategies. The heterogeneous nature of the links between the BRI and various large urban projects is demonstrated on the basis of case studies involving changing consortia of private and public Chinese and Southeast Asian actors. A regional approach allows us to identify connections and shared processes across Southeast Asian countries. It provides a historically grounded understanding of how the BRI incorporates long‐term interactions with China and more recent partnerships in Southeast Asian countries. The paper paves the way for a research agenda that contests the image of China as a monolithic actor implementing the BRI uniformly and consistently. Further analyses are needed to examine systems and networks of actors as well as the local urban politics that affect the BRI on the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

\nPlain Language SummaryThe Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has evolved from its ambitious beginning into a framework focused on high-quality development (HQD), emphasizing environmental sustainability and people-centered development. This study examines to what extent these new directives are implemented in the context of China’s overseas economic zones (OEZs), employing a multi-actor-influence model to analyze the complex interactions and challenges inherent in these projects. Focusing on the Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone (VSDZ) in Laos, our analysis identifies three primary institutional challenges: fragmentation between the central and local governments in China, structural constraints imposed on Chinese businesses, and inadequate cooperation between Chinese and host country actors. These challenges underscore the complexities of translating Beijing’s top-down policy into effective action on the ground. The paper concludes with a discussion of the broader implications of these findings for the BRI’s future development.This study examines Beijing’s recent strategic shift in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) towards high-quality development (HQD), focusing on sustainable environmental practices and enhancing local livelihoods. Our policy analysis confirms Beijing’s commitment to these goals. However, challenges arise due to the BRI’s decentralized implementation and the varied influences of multiple actors from both China and the host countries. We explore these challenges through a detailed case study of the Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone (VSDZ) in Laos, identifying three key issues: fragmentation between Chinese central and local governments, constraints on Chinese businesses, and inadequate cooperation between Chinese and host country actors.Our study contributes in three significant ways. First, it adds to the discussion of Beijing’s transition towards HQD and the BRI’s global influence through a review of Chinese policies and an analytical model elucidating the realities of BRI implementation. Second, it theorizes that outcomes of BRI projects are shaped more by local circumstances and stakeholder actions than by policies alone. Finally, it suggests potential measures to help realize HQD within the BRI framework in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's "the Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) is a top-level cooperation initiative among countries proposed by China, which has promoted China's cooperation with relevant countries in various aspects and fields. Research reports from think tanks and experts on the evaluation, analysis, and research conclusions of the BRI can reflect the stance, opinions, and demands of various countries abroad regarding the initiative. This paper takes the BRI reports of important think tanks in the " Global Go To Think Tank Index Report 2020" as the subject of its research, and analyzes the key points and development trends of foreign think tank research on the BRI by using text mining, topic evolution, and social network analysis. It provides reasonable suggestions and ideas for promoting the construction of the BRI and deepening related cooperation in China. Research shows that the thematic distribution of research reports on the BRI by think tanks is mainly focused on the fields of politics, economy, and military. The research areas are relatively stable, and there is not a strong trend of thematic evolution. The evolution paths are also mainly distributed in the fields of politics, economy, and military. There are not many expansions in the thematic evolution directions over the years, and there is a strong inheritance of themes. The connection between research themes and the main purpose of the BRI is somewhat inadequate, indicating a certain limitation in the understanding of the BRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is poised to profoundly reshape the regional geographical landscape. While existing communication studies on BRI have focused on the official and media narratives to frame the initiative, the overall orientation of the topic in academic circles is not well understood. By conducting a bibliometric literature review, this paper addresses this gap by answering the research question: How is the BRI reflected in the academic literature? In the review, we divide all academic studies on BRI into four cohorts (studies from scholars based in China, in Quad countries, in the rest of the world, and cross-collaborating scholars) and use structural topic model to understand the themes and trends on BRI scholarship from scholars from these regions. Our results show that scholars in different cohorts understand BRI differently, specifically, with China-based scholars projecting ideas of development, growth and sustainability, while Quad-based scholars mostly focus on the geopolitical impact, security implications and debt sustainability of BRI. The findings also show a divergence between popular narratives on BRI and academic research on the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Part of UN sustainable development goal 9 is upgrading production capabilities. • Increasing economic complexity is a key driver for sustainable economic growth. • Sequential model selection used for robust generalised method of moments estimation. • Chinese FDI evidently shows a positive impact on host countries' economic complexity. • Global policy makers should deepen their relationships with the belt and road. Upgrading the production capabilities in all countries is a target of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 9. Increasing economic complexity, that is, a country's ability to manufacture more sophisticated products and thus moving up the value chain, is a key driver for sustainable economic growth. This paper investigates whether Chinese Belt and Road investments have impacted the economic complexity of host countries — a topic not addressed in the literature to date, using a sequential generalised method of moments model selection approach. The research focuses on the countries whose economic complexities are below that of China. Our empirical results show significant positive effects of Chinese investments on such host countries' economic complexities. The inflows of Chinese investments have thus supported the upgrading of production capabilities in these countries. This is encouraging, especially for the Global South countries, to intensify their interactions with the Belt and Road initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, China is deepening its cooperation in oil and gas resources with countries along the Initiative. In order to better mitigate risks and enhance the safety of investments, it is of significant importance to research the oil and gas investment environment in these countries for China's overseas investment macro-layout. This paper proposes an indicator system including 27 indicators from 6 dimensions. On this basis, game theory models combined with global entropy method and analytic hierarchy process are applied to determine the combined weights, and the TOPSIS-GRA model is utilized to assess the risks of oil and gas investment in 76 countries along the Initiative from 2014 to 2021. Finally, the GM (1,1) model is employed to predict risk values for 2022 e2025. In conclusion, oil and gas resources and political factors have the greatest impact on investment environment risk, and 12 countries with greater investment potential are selected through cluster analysis in conjunction with the predicted results. The research findings may provide scientific decisionmaking recommendations for the Chinese government and oil enterprises to strengthen oil and gas investment cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) education policy using a critical policy discourse approach. At the textual level, this paper focuses on policy framing by identifying how diagnostic (problem definition), prognostic (solutions), and motivational (rationales) framings are described in two foundational BRI education policy documents. Next, six additional policy documents are selected to construct a discursive totality to understand how framings are linked to and embedded within the broader discursive practice of policy documents. The interpretations of these framings are viewed through the lens of policy driver, lever, and value. Finally, a macro-sociological analysis aimed at explanatory and normative critique shows that BRI education is embedded in the discourses of national rejuvenation and China's aspirations to become a global leader of an alternative global governance and order. The paper ends with a discussion postulating that the BRI education policy's success depends on various shifting domestic and geopolitical factors, from the growth of the Chinese economy and ideological struggles among the world's major powers to grassroots reception or resistance to Chinese influence in BRI countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a mega-project of primarily infrastructure-related loans and investments in Pakistan. Recently, the official discourse has increasingly shifted to the agricultural sector. For the region of Gilgit-Baltistan bordering China, academic and policy debates highlight the potential boost of fruit exports to China as the most promising opportunity to be leveraged through the CPEC. This paper scrutinizes these promises from a locally grounded perspective, investigating potential benefits and risks for local farmers. To make sense of the complex interplay between external and local actors, interests, markets and (infra)structures, the paper follows an assemblage-inspired approach to map out local trajectories. Contrary to the CPEC narrative, agricultural exports from Gilgit-Baltistan recently came to a halt, due to increasing trade barriers and seemingly competing agricultural developments in neighboring Xinjiang, China. Moreover, the economically most promising local crop for export to China, namely cherries, does not seem too promising for the majority of small farmers. There are other commodities with export potential, but overall, prospects appear to be limited. There is a need for a deeper engagement with the inherent complexities of CPEC trajectories, particularly in regards to local farming contexts in Pakistan and relevant developments in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of international students has become a new challenge that China and most countries in the world must face in the context of the "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) and the globalization of higher education. In this paper, we conducted an empirical study on international students in China (ISC) based on a combination of spatial econometric models and analytical methods such as BCG, GeoDetector, and DDCAM, trying to provide a basis for "evidence-based decision-making" by the government in the management of international students and talents. Quantitative analyses revealed significant diversity and spatial effects in the spatio-temporal dynamics of ISCs, with the emergence of star, gazelle, cow, and dog types, suggesting that the scientific management of ISCs requires both local adaptation (spatial differentiation and heterogeneity) and regional collaboration (spatial correlation and autocorrelation). There were many factors affecting the spatio-temporal dynamics of ISCs, and the force of different factors varied considerably, with the key factor more than 0.5 but the auxiliary factor being less than 0.2. Moreover, the factors had significant interaction effects, and a large number of super-interacting factor pairs emerged, with a joint force of more than 0.9, twice the force of a single factor. Generally, the factors had a complex driving mechanism, suggesting that ISC management requires identifying the key and important factors, while attaching emphasis to the synergistic effects among different factors. The recommendation is that China should manage ISCs in spatial zones and introduce differentiated development strategies and policies in different zones. In conclusion, this paper proposes a technical route integrating "dynamic analysis-driving mechanism-policy design" for international students, which is applicable to China, while providing a reference for the management and spatial planning design of international students in other countries in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macro-level discourses on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) firmly establish China as the sole agent in driving infrastructure development. This article contends that often obscured from view by the discourses on China's dominance are the host country authorities' exercising of agency in infrastructure development under their own jurisdiction. The paper focuses on the actions of the local host country authorities in developing an infrastructure megaproject as a part of the BRI in northern Myanmar's Kachin State. Currently under suspension, the Myitkyina Economic Development Zone (MEDZ, also known as Namjin Industrial Zone) would make an ambitious spatial intervention with wider implications and risks. The paper scrutinizes the 'strategies' by the local authorities in 2019-2020 in their attempts to move the project forward covertly. These include exploiting the project's designation as an economic developing zone to conceal its scale and the inclusion of a major urban development, lack of transparency, and alleged abuse of power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of China and the introduction of the Belt and Road Initiative have intensified regional great power competition. Seemingly, China and Japan have been competing over the export of infrastructure projects and access to the Southeast Asian market. Against this backdrop, this paper sheds light on recipient states' agency. Specifically, this paper explores how Indonesia has responded to Sino-Japanese competition through the perspective of economic hedging. In the realm of domestic railway development and the need to establish connectivity on Java, why did the Indonesian government decide to work with China to develop the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Rail project and Japan on the North Java Upgrading Line, as the two lines are not interoperable? Railway policy in Indonesia is strategic and pragmatic. On the one hand, Sino-Japanese competition diversifies Indonesia's options as it continues striving to strengthen infrastructure development. On the other hand, the need continually to strike a balance between the two great powers requires skill and flexibility. Therefore, maintaining policy autonomy and accepting economic costs make-up secondary states' responses to great power competition in turbulent times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge marks not only a record-setting achievement in engineering, but also a materialisation of ongoing efforts by the People's Republic of China to engage in cooperative projects aimed at expanding and deepening integrative connections with the semi-autonomous Special Administrative Regions of Macau and Hong Kong. This paper explores the colonial and post-colonial social construction of Hong Kong as a political-economic island, and the implications this carries into the tensions and open conflicts that have unfolded under the One Country, Two Systems agreement. Using the bridge as a case, it critically examines the geopolitical and biopolitical dimensions of infrastructure as a practice of subnational (de)bordering. The case renders visible a contemporary moment where infrastructure occupies a central position at the conjuncture of technology, advanced governmentality and shifting geographies of sovereignty in the People's Republic of China, within subnational city-regional development plans, as well as internationally in projects, such as the geographically expansive Belt and Road Initiative. A close examination of the Bridge project highlights the constructed and contested nature of borders, as well as the complex identities and ideologies that define them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Territorial inequalities in the west of the People's Republic of China were evidence of extreme poverty in that region. With the implementation of a set of government programs, boosted by the New Silk Road initiative, this region has overcome the obstacles in order to report indicators that show the impact of such actions. The province of Qinghai is an example of this, showing encouraging indicators that demonstrate the importance of the transfer of technologies and state resources for the achievement of concrete sustainability objectives. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the impacts generated by the New Silk Road on local development in Qinghai province. For this purpose, it relies on scientific methods such as historical-logical and inductive-deductive, in a descriptive and analytical-exploratory type of research. The results reveal the significance of the implementation of the development program accompanying the New Road, while revealing the gaps that persist, from which actions are proposed to achieve a structural economic transformation in the province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea (EG) joined the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Forum Macao) in 2022, becoming the tenth member-state. This occurred during the 2022 Extraordinary Ministerial Conference, after it acceded to the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) in 2014. Since 2015, China and EG have been intensifying their bilateral cooperation after establishing a comprehensive cooperative partnership (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, 2015). In 2019, the two countries signed a Belt and Road Initiative (B&RI) MoU during the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, and initiated a strategic approach for bilateral cooperation. Consequently, considering the uniqueness of EG as a Portuguese-speaking Country (PSC) and as the newest member of Forum Macao, this paper poses and answers the following research question: What will be the impact of Sino-Equatoguinean cooperation in light of EG's recent accession to FM? Methodologically, the research uses qualitative data supported by triangular referencing, including official and non-official sources, namely official statistics, academic papers, and media reports, to look into the bilateral Sino-Equatoguinean relations under the B&RI Lusophone framework, as well as the fact that EG is a CPLP member state. Accordingly, the methodologic rationale focuses on the uniqueness of EG as one of the Lusophone countries and relates it to the Chinese B&RI at three levels: domestic, regional and global. This paper is organized as follows: (1) Introduction; (2) The uniqueness of EG as a PSC; (3) The B&RI and the Lusophone Countries; (4) Cooperation between Equatorial Guinea and China; (5) Conclusion - The Future of Sino-Equatoguinean Cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is highly development-oriented and appeals to developing countries whose wish is to catch up with developed economies. China has called for co-construction of the BRI with all and sundry, particularly with African countries, which it has considered important and strategic in actualizing the BRI project. The call for co-construction echoes well with the African partners, who are keen on leveraging the BRI for their own development. Tied to China's status as a rising economic power, both partners have agreed to align the BRI with the African Union's development agenda for complementary and beneficial development. Our paper revealed that although the call for co-construction of the BRI is a welcomed initiative, there are potential setbacks that abound, and therefore offered strategies for responding to China's call for co-construction of the BRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has emerged as the largest public financier for energy infrastructure projects worldwide, concerns about the environmental and climate impacts of such projects have led to mounting international pressure on the Chinese government to 'green' its investment practices. This paper examines the understudied role of international engagement, and of specific international actors, in greening China's BRI. We propose two discrete models of engagement which serve as a means of understanding the role that international actors have played in greening China's BRI: (1) through direct engagement that influences individual project outcomes; and (2) through indirect engagement that shapes China's broader policies and investment practices. We also identify factors that have constrained the role of international influence, including the absence of an influential Chinese international development agency. Finally, we propose opportunities for international engagement with China regarding its overseas investment practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The politics of international finance for coal power plants have intensified since the 2015 Paris climate agreement was negotiated. Over the past few years, Japan and South Korea have signaled their intent not to fund new coal projects overseas, leaving China and its Belt and Road Initiative as the 'financier of last resort.' In September 2021, China too announced its intent to stop providing finance for overseas coal projects. What accounts for their decision to cease financing overseas coal projects despite prominent differences in political systems, degree of internationalization of their financial systems, and economic size? Drawing on datasets of coal projects and financing supplemented by case material and interviews, this paper explores the dynamics of coal export finance and how the combination of international reputational pressures and declining demand for coal finance diminished the domestic support for incumbent coal exporters in all three countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains the energy mix of China's overseas electricity investments across Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) recipient countries. We focus on Indonesia and Pakistan. Our research is based on both newly gathered project-level data and in-depth interviews with stakeholders of Chinese-backed power plants in Indonesia and Pakistan. We examine (1) why Chinese actors are involved in renewable power generation in Pakistan and not in Indonesia, and (2) why Chinese-backed coal-fired projects in Pakistan are cleaner than in Indonesia. We argue that variations along the three dimensions – scope, governance regime, and issue linkage – lead to different energy mixes in Chinese-invested power plants across BRI countries. This framework specifies how supply and demand factors interact across multiple levels regarding the formulation and implementation of China's overseas electricity projects. Our findings shed new light on the environmental implications of BRI projects and the dynamics of renewable energy development in emerging markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The location and layout of container multimodal hubs have received much research attention under the Belt and Road Initiative. To explore the spatial distribution pattern of international container multimodal hubs (ICMHs) and its influencing factors in China, this paper measures the domestic connectivity, international land connectivity, international rail-sea multimodal connectivity and comprehensive connectivity of ICMHs. Spatial analysis methods are used to explore the spatial patterns of ICMH connectivity, and then spatial regression models are applied to detect those key factors that influence its distribution. Results reveal that ICMH connectivity has significant spatial differences and obvious distribution trends across China and that such connectivity gradually decreases from east to west. The significant spatial agglomeration characteristic of connectivity is also highlighted. Specifically, a high connectivity is concentrated in the east and close to exit ports (land exit-ports and seaports), whereas a low connectivity is distributed in the expansive western areas. Results of the spatial regression also show that each factor has significant spatial heterogeneity with respect to connectivity distribution, especially freight turnover volume and investment in transportation. This study provides support for the layout of logistics hubs in multimodal networks and enriches the application of the connectivity method. • Spatial patterns of multimodal transport hubs in China was explored. • Multiple connectivity indexes of hubs were estimated under the Belt and Road Initiative. • A significant spatial disparity and trend distribution of hub connectivity was revealed. • Some factors had spatial heterogeneity on the connectivity distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 5–10 years, a growing number of Chinese scholars and policy experts have sought to theorise the 'development' of other peoples and places in the Global South. These intellectual efforts include building temporal frameworks for describing development processes, and often, an implicit set of directives for effecting positive change. Drawing on eight months' fieldwork in Beijing, this paper examines the representational practices of depicting development and its temporal dimension that have been mobilised in the ongoing production of Chinese international development thinking. In particular, it is concerned with the ways in which temporal distance and proximity have been constructed to provide a theoretical and moral justification for China's intensifying geopolitical and economic preoccupations. We argue that more than a system of explanations, current Chinese thinking contains and expresses a recalibrated will to geopolitical power, which has had a conditioning effect on the enframing of the meanings and relations of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on Liner Shipping Bilateral Connectivity Index and Port Liner Shipping Con‐ nectivity Index developed by UNCTAD, this paper constructs complex network with countries/ regions and ports as nodes respectively, explores the hierarchical structure and its spatial and temporal evolution of the Maritime Silk Road ports network. The results show that: (1) The ports network forms a pattern centered on China, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Europe, and presents a small world as whole, which consistent with the "core-edge" theory; (2) In terms of the hierarchy of the ports network, when countries/regions are used as nodes, they can be divided into four categories: core, semi-core, semi-fringe and fringe; when ports are used as nodes, they can be divided into four categories: core ports, semi-core ports, trunk ports and feeder ports; (3) In terms of spatial and temporal evolution of port networks, among the eight sub-networks formed by 124 ports, the sub-networks of China, Southeast Asia, Europe, North Africa and sub)Saharan Africa are consistent with the whole, showing a trend of decentralization and equaliza‐ tion. The sub-networks of South Asia and West Asia are in the fluctuating stage, and the sub-net‐ works of Northeast Asia show a trend of clustering, and the spatial auto-correlation of each port sub-network is strong. The core status of China, Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia have been consolidated; (4) The evolution of network is influenced by cooperation mechanisms, policies and strategies, technological progress, the scale effect and polarization effects of ports. These conclusions provide theoretical basis for China to promote the MSR interconnection, ports coop‐ eration and rational layout of liner shipping routes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper argues that Chinese involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean is primarily motivated by increasing the country's economic role within the region through Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The paper uses case study analysis methodology dwelling on the evolution and content of Chinese involvement in Greece and Cyprus. Primarily focusing of the nature of the Chinese investments in strategic sectors of the two cases in question the role that that China plays in Eastern Mediterranean is described as a 'silky involvement'. China's policy choices are also perceived to be an opportunity for Greece and Cyprus to combat the negative effects of 2007–2008 economic crises and to increase their geopolitical stronghold in the post-Cold War geopolitical environment of the Eastern Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the socio-economic and geopolitical outcomes associated with infrastructure development across multiple scales. Starting from the premise that planetary socio-technical transformations in this vein have distinctly national drivers, we focus on the urban agency of Chinese-led investment. The paper explores how different forms of infrastructural development generated by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) affects transformations in the political and material fabric of cities and their host regions. We approach BRI-related infrastructural practice through three interconnected optics – discourse, instruments, and politics – so as to interrogate the articulation of projects linked to the BRI within the material site of the urban. Based on theorisations of infrastructure from an urban perspective and a critical review of literature on the BRI itself, we develop three illustrative case studies at different spatial scales and within different geographic contexts – in Pakistan, Central Europe and the UK. To examine the cases as well as their embeddedness in broader debates on the topic, we use a systematic review methodology relying on a wide variety of sources. We offer comparative and relational perspectives on the manner in which these relatively diverse cases demonstrate China's role as a global urban actor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background——Measuring the economic effect of tariff increases on wood products between China and the United States, comparing the gains and losses, and simulating China’s tariff plan for wood products in response to the trade friction are conducive to optimizing China’s anti-tariff structure of wood products and reducing the adverse impact of the US-China trade friction on China’s wood products trade. Methods——Based on the trade data of US-China wood products in the UN Comtrade database from 2012 to 2017,the model of Armington elasticity of substitution was constructed to estimate the Armington elasticity of substitution of US-China wood products in the other market, and the estimated substitution elasticity was introduced into the local equilibrium analysis tool SMART model. Based on the trade data of wood products from various countries in the UNCTAD TRAINS database, the economic effects of tariff increase on US-China wood products in the US-China trade friction were calculated by product categories. Results——The estimation results of the model of Armington elasticity of substitution show that the substitutability of Chinese wood products in the US market is higher than that of American wood products in the Chinese market. In the tariff increases on wood products imposed by China and the US, Chinese wood products are in a disadvantageous situation. China should adopt differentiated tariff countermeasures according to the Armington elasticity of substitution of American wood products in the Chinese market. The results of SMART model on trade creation effect and trade transfer effect confirm that China’s wood products are facing greater export losses in US-China trade friction, and show that the high import transfer rate of China’s wood products is an important reason for China’s export losses. The calculation results of tariff effect and welfare effect confirm that the US-China trade friction is a double-loss outcome for the two countries, but the welfare loss of the United States is much greater than that of China. With the gradual implementation of tariffs imposed by the United States, the trade effect of tariff increases has gradually emerged. The model calculation results show that China’s export of processed products such as wooden furniture, paper and board, wood products to the United States still faces a significant threat of export reduction. The results of the model show that China’s different tariff countermeasures for wood products have achieved remarkable results, but there are still improvements. Conclusions and Discussions——The Armington elasticity of substitution of wood products in the other market between China and the United States is very different, indicating that the default value of 1.5 is not used in the SMART model. The local equilibrium analysis tool SMART model is used to study the economic effect of US-China tariff increases on US-China trade in wood products, which can provide more and more accurate information than other methods. In order to reduce the adverse effects of US-China trade friction on China’s wood products trade, firstly, China should strengthen technological innovation and brand building, and reduce the substitutability of China’s wood products. Second, China can seize the major opportunities of Belt and Road Initiative and RCEP to find export substitute markets for China’s wood products. Third, China needs to optimize the tariff structure of wood products timely and improve the import transfer rate of wood products. Finally, China is expected to accelerate the implementation of the “dual circulation” strategy, effectively increase domestic timber supply, and actively develop the domestic wood products market, to achieve high-quality development of wood products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a well-acknowledged central economic and diplomatic policy of the Chinese government, which was proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013. This paper intends to discover the relationship between the public diplomacy narratives of the BRI and its implementation. By using content analysis, this paper analyzes Chinese President Xi's speeches from 2013 to 2020 about the BRI, as well as official statements of the Chinese central government. It identifies the public diplomacy narratives of the BRI: an assemblage of constantly changing policy settings that accommodates various economic and political interests. Also, this paper draws on differences between countries joining the BRI or not, and several case studies to elucidate the implementation of the BRI. Different from repetitive literature that explores either the BRI narratives or its implementation, this paper contributes by combining and comparing the two. Despite positive interpretations of the BRI the Chinese government has adopted, the paper argues that there are no deceptive tricks with skeletons in the closet of the Chinese government, as the BRI public diplomacy narratives are, in general, consistent with its implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new development pattern is a strategic choice to reshape China's new advantages in international cooperation and competition. It is based on China's current development stage, changes in the environment, and other factors. Located deep within China's interior, Xinjiang is a crucial region for the development of the western region and the Belt and Road Initiative. Its agricultural resources are exported to numerous foreign nations. In the context of the new development pattern, this paper first examines the foreign trade issues in Xinjiang. Second, this paper analyzes the current state of Sino-Kazakhstani trade, in particular the current state of trade in agricultural products. In addition, the growth potential of Xinjiang's agricultural international trade is analyzed utilizing the gravity model and fuzzy algorithm. Finally, countermeasures for the mode of development of Xinjiang's international trade are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of foreign-introducing traditional Chinese medicinals ( FITCM) or exotic Chinese medicinals is of historical inevitability in the development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It has become a new field and development direction in the TCM discipline construction under the new situation, and an indispensable part of traditional Chinese medicine. With the deepening of reform and opening up policy, the implementation of the "Belt and Road" initiative and the development of China's economy, its role has become more and more important. The development of FITCM is a practical process of the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine theory. Through combing the historical development, it is shown that the key to the research of new FITCM is to endow exotic traditional medicinals with TCM properties. This paper has defined the concept and research content of FITCM, summarized the steps and method of the research on the medicinal properties of FITCM, expounded the "four steps" to explore the medicinal properties of FITCM, constructed the new research paradigm of FITCM, summarized the development status and the current catalogue of new FITCM. This paper also discusses the position and role of FITCM in the construction of traditional Chinese medicine from five aspects: the new direction of discipline development, the new platform of innovative development, the new measures of talent training, the new impetus of social development and the new approaches to international exchange. The research and development of FITCM will inevitably become the new impetus and highlight of the development of traditional Chinese medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the recently rising number of academic papers that empirically examine local variances in China's Belt and Initiative (BRI) projects in various foreign lands, this paper points out the tension between attempts to theorize BRI projects. The Sino-localized approach and the assemblage theory were the two main attempts used by scholars from disparate academic disciplines to conceptualize local agency and to understand how local conditionalities, practices, and norms may affect the outcome of BRI projects. We need to examine their differences and similarities, and determine whether they are really irreconcilable. In addition, how their ontological differences lead to epistemological, methodological and analytical differences in studying BRI projects should be clarified as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy infrastructure connectivity is a key implementation area for the success of the Belt and Road Initiative. In the current complex international environment, China's energy infrastructure investment in the countries along the Belt and Road is often restricted due to varying degrees of heated disputes with the host countries, thus facing the political risk of investment loss or even failure. This paper used the Heckman two-stage selection model to overcome the sample selection problem in traditional literature and systematically studied the political risks to China's energy infrastructure investment in countries along the Belt and Road within a unified framework. The results showed that Chinese energy infrastructure investments exhibited market-seeking and energy resource-seeking features; while political risks had a significant impact on choosing the locations of energy infrastructure investments, socio-environmental factors were not given sufficient attention. At the national level, the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative was beneficial to China's foreign energy infrastructure investments under certain regulatory levels and environmental policy performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of global energy transition and the imperative for sustainable development, the trade dynamics of solar photovoltaic (PV) products among "Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)" countries gained momentum. This study investigates the evolving trade patterns of PV products within BRI nations, alongside the underlying determinants. The paper constructs and analyzes a solar PV product trade network, elucidating evolutionary trends, structural complexities, and clusters. A novel centrality influence model explores influencing factors across five dimensions. Methodologically, trade data, the "Five Connectivity" framework, and socio-economic indicators from 2001 to 2022 across 65 BRI countries underpin the study. Empirical insights reveal a robust PV product trade network with density exceeding 0.4 and reciprocity surpassing 0.38. China's rising centrality, reflected in a weighted degree surge from 14.38 to 79.37 since 2011, signifies its consolidation within the network. Results show sustained high density and reciprocity in the PV trade network, signaling robust communication among BRI countries. China's centrality in the network has consistently grown since 2011. Trade cluster analysis reveals isolated segments predominant, depicting emerging economies with limited photovoltaic exchanges, mainly export-focused. The study highlights the pivotal role of "Five Connectivity" dimensions in promoting PV trade, while financial connectivity's impact remains modest. The emergence of PV product centers challenges traditional energy hubs, prompting the need for new energy trading paradigms and robust financial hubs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the ideational motivations behind China's connectivity projects, most notably the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and aims to explore which values these infrastructure projects seek to promote. The article is based on various published sources, including Chinese official, and public policy statements. Specifically, those statements and policy papers are qualitatively analyzed through a reflection of their manifested message against the background of Chinese International Relations-related discussions on Chinese worldviews. Based on this analysis, the article argues that China's connectivity projects may be perceived as part of China's ideational competition with the West, culminating in the presentation of "Chinese values" as a viable alternative to "universal values." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the literature on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has the factors that directly influence the transport and logistics. The relevant literature has been collected systematically since the BRI was initiated in 2013. We adopt a content analysis methodology involving a four-step process. It can be found that firstly, more and more papers on the BRI have been published these years and the influence of BRI on transport and logistics can be summarized into three main perspectives, namely, the changes of the politics & policy, the changes of the environmental dimensions, the direct influence on transport and logistics; secondly, the topics and adopted methodology have been summarized, and it can be found that the percentage papers using quantitative analysis increases over the years; thirdly, percentage of papers with optimistic attitude on the BRI has been increasing since 2013 and compared with authors with affiliations in China, authors with non-Chinese affiliations are more likely to show pessimistic attitudes; fourthly, the research gaps have been summarized, which illustrates future research direction or topics and can promote the studies on transport and logistics considering the influence of the BRI and provides theoretical basis for BRI's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses China's foreign language education policies (FLEPs) from ancient China to the present, examining their origin, development, reform, present situation, and future direction. The analysis offers detailed insights into the background, content, and impact of crucial FLEPs in China at different times. The study highlights the role of English as a lingua franca in communication between China and the rest of the world and the consequent focus of China's FLEPs on English. However, with the advent of the Belt and Road Initiative (B&R), attention has gradually shifted towards foreign language education (FLE) in other languages. The main focal point of this study is on the reform and adjustment of China's FLEPs to meet the new situation, opportunities, and challenges along with the B&R's implementation, aiming at offering theoretical and practical references for improving FLEPs in China and the Belt and Road nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper comprises original research on China's use of bilateral media cooperation to mediate its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Building upon the literature on strategic narratives, aesthetic power and the Silk Road as a foreign policy concept, we present a detailed case study of the visual imagery of the "Silk Road" documentary collaboration between China's and Russia's state-owned international broadcasters, China Radio International and RT (formerly Russia Today). We employ a visual methodology to interrogate the formation and projection of multimodal (visual, textual and oral) narratives about China's infrastructural activities along this metaphorical new "Silk Road". We examine how the Silk Road series gives sense to China's BRI, the relative weighting of Chinese and Russian strategic narratives about the BRI, and how power is distributed in this Chinese-Russian media partnership. Our analysis reveals that in re-packaging visual imagery that applies nostalgia to the history of core places and technologizes their future, the series projects a pre-curated Chinese visual narrative that emplots the BRI as human and cultural development. Russian regional strategic narratives are marginalized. China is applying its aesthetic power to Russian journalists and politicians; RT obtains some commercial benefits, but the Russian state's aesthetic power is ceded to China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese mammoth investment projects abroad, and especially those under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) umbrella, are receiving heavy scrutiny in academic and policy circles. However, there is insufficient empirical evidence to evaluate their impact. This paper employs a difference- in-differences approach and a pair of new datasets on government spending and economic activity compiled by the World Bank to examine the local impacts of the Chinese-Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan. It finds that the 2013 announcement of CPEC was accompanied by a disproportionate increase in government spending in CPEC districts. However, in the six years after it was first announced, CPEC has not directly contributed a significant increase in economic activity in the districts along its path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a development plan proposed by China that aims to build a new platform for international cooperation and create new drivers of shared development. South Asia is a key area in the Belt and Road Initiative, including eight countries. As the BRI implemented, China's trade with South Asia has been gradually strengthened. This paper explores the influencing factors of China-South Asia trade under the background of the BRI by using Gravity Model of Trade. The results show that economic growth in China and South Asia, increase of savings rate and improvement of industrialization in South Asia has a significant positive effect on China-South Asia trade. While the development gap between China and South Asia has negative effect on China-South Asia trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great Tea Road (Wanli chadao) is a 13,000 km trade route that for two centuries connected Qing China and Tsarist Russia. It has been identified in recent years as an important category of China's route heritage. The rediscovery of the Great Tea Road, and other Chinese route heritage, is being framed in a 'mobility narrative', that is, a narrative that describes how mobility and exchange over space and time contribute to the formation of the Chinese nation or Zhonghua minzu. Since 2013 the Great Tea Road has been incorporated into the 'authorised mobility narrative' of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and in particular to the BRI agreement linking China, Mongolia and Russia. In 2019 the Great Tea Road was placed on the China list for World Heritage application. This paper examines the rise of the Great Tea Road in contemporary China and describes the various actors that play a formative role in developing the narratives and policies associated with such route heritage. It finds that the Chinese combination of 'mobility narrative' and 'heritage bureaucracy' provides a discursive and institutional frame that is able to mobilise significant resources in the pursuit of cultural policy and heritage diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The weaponization of racialized imagery has been a common feature of geopolitical contestation in contemporary history. The paper critically examines the historical genesis of Sinophobic narratives, which have been common features of the big power geopolitical contestation in the Pacific. The globalization of capitalism in the nineteenth century and the West's attempts to penetrate the Chinese market and exploitation of its resources led to tension, skirmishes and wars. The myth of racial European superiority and corresponding inferiority of the Chinese was weaponized as an ideological justification for colonial domination, exploitation of cheap labour and appropriation of China's resources and wealth. In recent years, the Sinophobic paranoia has been exacerbated by China's Belt and Road initiative, a strategy at global economic and technological supremacy to counter the West's dominance. This competition for global hegemony is played out in various parts of the world and the Pacific included. The paper critically discusses various historical factors associated with Sinophobia in the context of the USA, France and Australia and how these have influenced these countries' contemporary approaches to Chinese expansionism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changsha Kiln rose and flourished alongside the development of China's Maritime Silk Road (8th–9th century). The kiln occupies an important place in the development of China's ceramic science and technology, notably as the source of high-temperature copper-red glaze. A variety of lime-colored glaze was one product of Changsha Kiln. Its surface was decorated with both copper-green and copper-red, and is the earliest known example of the successful firing of a copper-red glaze. This ware is representative of the birth of high-temperature copper-red glaze, but there has been a lack of research on its optical properties and the technology's origin. In this paper, OM, SEM, TEM, optical coherence tomography (OCT), XRF, fiber optic spectrometry, and other analytical techniques were used to investigate the red and green glazes of Changsha Kiln. The key result of this paper is to reveal the optical properties of copper-green and copper-red in combination with colloidal absorption, ion absorption, and scattering, and to study the key factors for the origin of the high-temperature copper red glaze. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant corridor under the "Belt and Road Initiative" is announced by the government of China for numerous transport and energy projects. China focuses greatly on the sustainability of these projects, in accordance with Green Investment Principles. For this, environmental, social, governance, and technological considerations are taken into account. This paper offers a novel assessment of the impact of green sustainability under BRI and the current emission scenario in Pakistan. The question that needs to be addressed here is whether the projects under Belt and Road Initiative are as environment friendly as they claim. In the first phase of this study, we review theories establishing evidence based on existing literature to determine the influence of Belt and Road on economic development. In the next phase, we use Environment Kuznets Curve and apply estimates from Johansson's Cointegration Test to quantify the present environmental scenario of Pakistan and probable environmental risk portrayed by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This paper helps in determining the relationship between carbon emission and three major variables including energy consumption, economic growth, and foreign direct investment (FDI). Cointegration analysis is applied on time series data comprising of a 40 years' period from 1979 to 2019. The paper finds that (i) the belt and road corridors could substantially improve trade, foreign investment, and living conditions for citizens in participating countries; (ii) moreover, this study confirms the presence of one cointegrated equation suggesting the presence of a long term relationship between the CO2 and independent variables and a short run association running from EnC to CO2. The study also proposes a Green BRI Model which formulates a body that devises environmental performance standards, reviews procedures, and ensures that they get implemented on all CPEC projects. The Belt and Road Initiative increases emissions among participating countries. China and corridor economies need to adopt strict policy reforms that increase transparency, expand trade, improve debt sustainability, and mitigate environmental, social, and corruption risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the prospects and promises of continent‐wide infrastructure projects under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and its implications for intra‐regional trade and economic development in Africa. Building on the supply side theory of trade and economic development, and taking cognizance of the impacts of asymmetric market sizes on trade integration, this paper argues that continent‐wide infrastructure projects are perhaps not the biggest constraints to intra‐Africa trade. Consequently, the paper recommends caution in pursuing regional infrastructure projects under the BRI. Given that the economies of most African countries depend largely on natural resources, the BRI could be adopted strategically to establish and manage infrastructure projects that would relax the binding constraints to structural transformation and allow for the development of manufacturing and/or service capabilities in the respective countries, especially in niche areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accelerating the formation of a green dual-circulation pattern is an essential strategic choice for China to achieve high-quality development. As a vital link for two-way economic and trade cooperation, the pilot free trade zone (PFTZ) is an important window for promoting green dual-circulation development. From the perspective of green dual-circulation, this paper attempts to construct a comprehensive index system of green dual-circulation by entropy weight method based on Chinese provincial panel data from 2007 to 2020 and uses the Propensity Score Matching–Difference in Differences method to test the policy impact of PFTZ building on regional green dual-circulation. The empirical results show that: (1) the establishment of PFTZs significantly promotes regional green dual-circulation development by 3%-4%. This policy effect has a strong positive impact on the eastern regions; (2) PFTZs can improve regional green dual circulation through the effect of green finance, technological progress, and the agglomeration of innovative talents. The mediating effect of green finance and technological progress is more pronounced; (3) The promotion effect of PFTZs is primarily due to the local green circulation effect, with no significant effects on the surrounding areas; and (4) There is a positive policy linkage effect between PFTZs and the Belt and Road Initiative. This study creates the analytical perspective and empirical support for assessing the policy impact of PFTZs and provides management insights for PFTZ policymakers in promoting green dual-circulation development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper maps out contemporary discourses of Chinese diplomacy that have proliferated under the aegis of 'major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics'. We examine how these narratives are underpinned by webs of relationality that see China promoting equal and win–win partnerships with other state actors, yet are also defined by hierarchical premises for such diplomatic engagements. These relational contradictions are most clearly manifested when we interrogate the spatial dynamics of China's diplomatic endeavours through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). By scrutinising the geopolitical imaginations, sites and scales associated with the BRI, we turn attention to three spatial tensions that are closely bounded up with the relational contradictions of Chinese diplomacy: 'win–win' diplomacy promoting a 'harmonious world' versus territorially based diplomacy; periphery diplomacy versus the global ambitions of BRI; and the centralisation versus decentralisation dimensions of Chinese diplomacy. This allows us to make sense of the multiplicity of descriptors that have been affixed to Chinese diplomacy, in order to underscore the 'work' they perform to bequeath (at times, divergent and contested) meanings to China's new foreign policy approach. Hence, a relational and spatial understanding of Chinese diplomacy, we argue, can reveal a more nuanced picture of the promises, potential and disjunctures of China's rapidly expanding geopolitical and diplomatic actions on the international stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographers have increasingly attended to the role of emotion in geopolitical encounters and the geopolitics of cross‐border infrastructure projects. While scholars have theorised fear as an emotion produced by elite geopolitical discourses and encounters between bodies, we know much less about how infrastructure's materialities provoke fear and anxiety. Furthermore, key distinctions between anxiety – or a psychological state of insecurity and unease – and fear, which is attached to a specific target object, are still not fully understood. Focused on the uncertainties over China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), we develop the concept of sovereign anxiety – a generalised condition of unease over the security of one's political community – to account for how the BRI generates not only the hard materials of infrastructure (e.g., roads, dams and pipelines), but also the social practices of affect and emotion. Sovereign anxiety, we argue, is heightened by the absence of transparency over China's infrastructure investments in Myanmar. In this paper, we trace how sovereign anxiety is variously experienced and grounded in residents' observations, personal biographies, social histories, and sense of community belonging. We also identify three themes by which fears of the BRI are articulated: relations, roads, and resources. This article contributes an emotional geopolitics perspective to grounded studies of the BRI, while also demonstrating the geopolitical significance of attending to the emotional lives of infrastructure in relation to the BRI and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars and analysts have sought to clarify the Chinese Communist Party's motives for carrying out the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a series of infrastructure investments in countries across the globe. While many emphasize Beijing's geopolitical interests, this paper argues that the BRI should also be understood as a large-scale effort to create business activities for Chinese companies and workers outside of China. We define the contours of this "building out" strategy by analyzing the stages that typify BRI projects: project selection, project financing, project construction, and post-construction operation and management. Our analysis draws, in large part, on data that we have compiled from a sample of BRI projects. After showing macro-level trends in the data, we offer three in-depth case studies to clarify the underlying mechanisms at work. Our findings suggest that BRI projects are engineered to direct finance and construction bids to Chinese companies, which are typically state-owned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative is a major Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. Research on the risk prevention and control of China's financial investment in countries along the Belt and Road has become a very hot topic in the world. This research focuses on the risk evaluation methods and prevention and control countermeasures of China's foreign investment under the Belt and Road Initiative. First, based on the analysis of the existing studies on economic investment evaluation, an intuitionistic fuzzy multi-attribute evaluation method based on entropy method and G1 method is proposed. The essence of the proposed method is to combine the intuitionistic fuzzy set theory with subjective and objective evaluation methods, which improves the disadvantage of the original evaluation method taking too much subjective factors into consideration. This study applies the proposed method to the economic risk evaluation of China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), constructs a 17-indicator economic risk system, and uses this method to rank the importance of the 17 indicators. The more important contribution is that this paper not only achieves improvements at the theoretical level and innovation at the practical level, but also condenses the research conclusions into three pieces of countermeasures and suggestions on China's investment in countries along the Belt and Road. This research can provide theoretical support for Chinese government to make financial investment decisions in countries along the Belt and Road, and can also help countries along the Belt and Road to actively integrate into the Belt and Road Initiative, and promote the high-quality social and economic development of the countries along the Belt and Road. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese diplomacy has been proactive under Xi Jinping and overseas Chinese are an important target. A better understanding of how overseas Chinese perceive Chinese diplomacy can increase our knowledge, but it is under‐studied in the literature. To fill part of this gap, this research focuses on the Pacific region where Chinaʼs activities have triggered growing geostrategic competition between traditional powers and China. Based on a survey of 182 ordinary overseas Chinese in Fiji and Tonga, this paper examines Chinese diasporaʼs perceptions of three aspects that are related to Chinaʼs diplomacy, including the Belt and Road Initiative, China‐Pacific bilateral relations, and old‐new Chinese issues. The survey reveals nuances in ordinary overseas Chinese views about Chinaʼs diplomacy, especially the concerns and apathy among some of them. It suggests that ordinary overseas Chinese support for Chinaʼs diplomacy is unlikely to grow substantially unless their views about this diplomacy become more positive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]