Not-so-new silk roads: Japan's foreign policies on Asian connectivity infrastructure under the radar

Scholarly narratives concerning China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) tend to contextualise this project within China's rivalry with the United States and Japan. Such interpretations often reduce and misconstrue Japan's initiatives in Asian infrastructure finance as mere reactivity to China's advances. This paper will showcase Japan's own foreign and financial policies regarding infrastructure in Asia and the New Silk Road regions since the end of the Cold War. I argue that Japan's presence in that field is underappreciated and under-researched, as Japan's infrastructural footprint in the New Silk Road significantly pre-dates the BRI. Furthermore, I stress the fact that Japan's foreign policy in Asian infrastructure finance featured important cooperative postures toward China, especially within multilateral development banks. The paper makes a contribution to emerging scholarship on the BRI—often reliant on strategic communications and projections—by highlighting Japan's role in regional infrastructure to show how our understanding of international relations and international political economy in Asia can be better informed by economic history and area studies.     

“They will not automatically benefit”: The politics of infrastructure development in Laos's Northern Economic Corridor

At a time when the shortcomings of neoliberal development are well known, China's Belt and Road Initiative offers both an opportunity and a requirement to revisit the question of a more inclusive, equitable approach to infrastructure development. This article examines the case of the Northern Economic Corridor, a highway-centered regional trade corridor constructed through northwestern Laos in the early-mid 2000s that was co-financed by the Asian Development Bank and the governments of China and Thailand, and that has been subsequently included in the BRI as one of a group of regional corridors following the historical trajectories of the Silk Road. By examining the discursive politics of infrastructure's formal geography – and focusing on the practices that manage how publicly funded projects address predictable, negative impacts – this paper engages with emerging research on the BRI, wider scholarship on infrastructure, and the political geography of transnational development cooperation and financing at multiple scales. Specifically, I show how vulnerable populations were excluded from the protections of infrastructure mitigation along an early BRI project, and use this to argue that scholars, community advocates, infrastructure planners, financiers, regulators and others engaged with the BRI and other new infrastructure initiatives should rethink established conventions that demote the attention paid to “indirect” impacts. I highlight the arena of formal-geographic mitigation planning as a key field of engagement in the struggle to make new infrastructure live up to expectations about inclusive and equitable development.     

中国—中亚合作冲突关系及时空热点分析

中亚地处欧亚大陆中心，是“一带一路”倡议建设的重要区域。本文基于GDELT新闻媒体数据库，构建了事件影响度和双边关系度，定量分析了中国与中亚国家之间的合作、冲突关系演变，采用时空热点分析识别了中国在中亚城市尺度的合作、冲突热点模式。结果表明：①中国与中亚国家的合作日趋紧密。“一带一路”倡议提出之后，中国与中亚国家的合作趋势显著上升，与哈萨克斯坦的合作关系最为紧密。②中国在中亚地区的合作区域集中在中亚国家首都、战略要地、重要能源基地等，在乌兹别克斯坦安集延地区和塔吉克斯坦哈特隆州形成集中连片的合作区域。冲突区域集中在中亚国家首都和战略要地，与合作区域在空间上高度重合，但影响力显著低于合作事件。③中国在中亚城市的影响力以合作关系占主导，冲突关系大于合作关系的城市主要分布在吉尔吉斯斯坦。64%的中亚城市为低合作—低冲突状态，中亚国家首都、阿拉木图、安集延属于显著的高合作—高冲突城市。④时间尺度上，中国与中亚地区的合作热点以持续型为主，冲突热点以振荡型为主，哈萨克斯坦纳伦市、阿特劳州为新增冲突热点，应引起重视。     

China’s new Eurasian ambitions: the environmental risks of the Silk Road Economic Belt

China is moving ahead with the Silk Road Economic Belt, an ambitious infrastructure development agenda with the distinct promise of regional and sub-regional economic development. However, the initiative will create new environmental risks across the entire Eurasian continent, especially in countries with predominately poor records of environmental governance, including the former Soviet republics and Russia. Concurrently, on the domestic front, the Chinese Government has launched a new policy paradigm, “ecological civilization,” to dramatically improve environmental regulations, reduce pollution, and transform industries by adopting new green technologies and higher environmental standards. But does China’s intention to go through a “green shift” domestically resonate with these new transborder infrastructure development mega-projects? This paper will attempt to answer this question by juxtaposing China’s new domestic policy paradigm with environmental standards currently proposed in its global outreach projects focusing on China-northern Eurasia and China-Russia, including trade exchanges in natural resources.     

Assessing the geotechnical component of road construction suitability across Australia

Given Australia's dispersed population distribution the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure is both essential and expensive. This paper presents a simple model for assessing geotechnical suitability for road construction across the continent, based upon the three major phases of road construction: earthworks, pavement construction and sealing. Data from the recently completed geotechnical landscape map of Australia have been used to operationalise the model at a national scale. The map was coded to the basic spatial units (modified local government areas) of the Australian Resources Information System, so forming an extensive geographic data base suited to a variety of national transport suitability assessments. As a demonstration, the road construction suitability model and the geotechnical data have been applied to the task of mapping the average suitability of each basic spatal unit in Australia for each of the three phases of road construction. The resulting maps provide a comprehensive overview of the instrinsic difficulty of providing roading throughout Australia.     

Coupling national geo-political economic strategies and the Belt and Road Initiative: The China-Belarus Great Stone Industrial Park

The joint development by Belarus and China of the Great Stone Industrial Park (GSIP) is designed to establish a high-tech industrial zone and an eco-friendly satellite city of Minsk as a key node on the Eurasian Land Bridge linking China with the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union. The development and organization of the GSIP are explained in the light of a coupling of the strategic goals of the two countries in the context of a new Chinese model of external engagement called an emergent geo-political economic culture. These goals include Belarus' desire to reduce its dependence on Russian gas and oil, upgrade and diversify its economy, strengthen its integration with Eurasia and find new partners, by attracting Chinese and other foreign direct investment in the context of China's Going Out and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). An analysis of the roles of national leaders Aliaksandr Lukashenka and Xi Jinping and of different stakeholders in the predominantly top-down design, development and governance of the park reveals the way in which a BRI cooperation platform permits the coupling of Chinese and Belarusian interests and strategies in ways through which each side expects to benefit.     

China Gazes West: Xinjiang's Growing Rendezvous with Central Asia

A senior American specialist on the geography of China surveys that country's enduring interest and involvement with the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, increasingly on the basis of Xinjiang's role as a bridgehead for economic linkages. Among the key features of this growing involvement reviewed in the paper are the establishment in 2001 of a regional security alliance (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) to combat Islamist extremism as well as separatist activities; growing commercial linkages (especially with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) in tandem with improved transport links and increasing crossborder movements of merchants, traders, and tourists; and China's growing need for oil and increasing reliance on Kazakhstan as a key source for petroleum. China's growing engagement with Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries is examined within the context of both opportunities as well as challenges, the latter reflecting the increasing complexity of Han Chinese and Uyghur/Turkic relations owing to increased Uyghur ties to affiliated populations in the Central Asian states.     

Xi'an as an Inner China Development Model

An American geographer examines the recent economic resurgence of a historically significant city in China's interior as a result of a policy utilizing science and technology research institutions and the local labor force to "jump-start" technology-intensive growth. The study, based on a series of interviews and data gathered during field research in 2000 and 2002, reveals synergies among the city's pre-existing defense-related activities (electronics and aviation), its favorable financial and transport infrastructure, and the concentration of several large, prestigious technical universities, which have been utilized in the transformation of the city economy toward high-technology production for China's domestic market. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F23, H50, O18. 7 figures, 2 tables, 36 references.     

中原经济区的“三化”协调发展之路

中原经济区走新型工业化、新型城镇化与农业现代化"三化"协调发展之路,是中原崛起的时代呼唤,是中原经济区建设的最高境界,是中原儿女的庄严承诺。选择"三化"协调作为中原经济区的发展之路,有着深厚的宏观背景。在整体、协调、融合、可持续原则的制约下,"三化"协调发展的主要途径为:产业集群发展、产城互动发展、城乡统筹发展。其中,城乡统筹发展是"三化"协调发展的最终落脚点,包括构建现代城镇体系,搭建城镇化本土承载平台,推进新农村和新型农村社区建设,构建城乡资源共享平台和社会保障体系。     

‘Aerial Silk Roads’: Airport Infrastructures in China's Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is widely touted as China's answer to development through international connectivity. The scheme has often been linked to China's objectives of crafting a new world order centred on itself and/or stabilizing its economy through externalizing surplus capacity. While important in broadly framing China's relationship with the world, this article posits that such a fixation on state-centric visions of development leaves the door open for misinterpretation, mistaking the BRI for a coherent set of projects imposed ‘from above’. Delving into the execution of infrastructure planning on the ground, this article argues that taking a practice-oriented approach to large-scale developmental schemes can more accurately shed light on their internally fractured processes. Two airport projects in central China branded as part of the country's ‘aerial Silk Roads’ are examined to illustrate these dynamics, with particular attention paid to the airports’ shifting conceptualizations, the competitive motivations behind their (re)construction, and the social relations sustaining them. The authors argue that closely tracking the unfolding of a range of infrastructure planning practices within specific projects can demystify modern-day developmental programmes like the BRI, by revealing how their ‘grand’ visions are often reinterpreted, altered and frustrated at local levels, even before they have a chance to influence the world.     

China's Energy Security: Challenges and Priorities

In a companion paper to the essays comparing China's and India's economic rise (Prime, 2009) as well as India's energy security (Dadwal, 2009), two specialists on China's energy industries review the country's challenges posed by the need to dramatically increase energy use in order to support economic growth while coping with pressures to reduce environmental impacts from emissions of greenhouse gases. After reviewing the current mix of fuels in the economy and discussing each major energy resource (in terms of proven reserves, production, consumption, and foreign import requirements), the authors focus on measures undertaken by the Chinese government and corporations to improve access to vital supplies. The paper covers efforts to enhance the country's energy security, which include diversifying sources of oil supply, purchasing oil and gas concessions and financing of energy infrastructure development in African and Central Asian countries, instituting reforms to encourage more efficient energy use, and developing alternative energy sources. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O130, P280, Q400. 7 figures, 2 tables, 82 references.     

GOVERNMENT QUALITY AND THE ECONOMIC RETURNS OF TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT IN EUROPEAN REGIONS

Transport infrastructure investment is a cornerstone of growth‐promoting strategies. However, the link between infrastructure investment and economic performance remains unclear. This may be a consequence of overlooking the role of government institutions. This paper assesses the connection between regional quality of government and the returns of different types of road infrastructure in the regions of the European Union. The results unveil the influence of regional quality of government on the economic returns of transport infrastructure. In weak institutional contexts, investment in motorways—the preferred option by governments—yields significantly lower returns than the more humble secondary road. Government institutions also affect the returns of transport maintenance investment.     

Built environment and tourism as road safety determinants in Benidorm (Spain)

The rise in the number of urban road accidents is a challenge shared by all European cities, which seek to improve mobility while reducing transport problems. In recent years, urban road accidents in Spain have been constantly increasing and now account for a larger share of the total number of road accidents. This paper aims to analyse the impact of urban factors on road accidents. For this purpose, a small-scale analysis of land use and road infrastructure has been conducted in the town of Benidorm, one of the main tourist destinations in Spain. In addition, a regression analysis has been carried out using a Negative Binomial distribution. The results show that factors such as the level of mixed land uses, population density and road infrastructure are related to urban road accidents. The findings also reveal that tourism environments have a positive impact on pedestrian road safety. Small-scale analyses, particularly those related to exclusively-oriented environments, such as tourism developments, should be studied in detail in order to promote safety, liveability and sustainability in our cities.     

Global TransPark: New Competitiveness for Hong Kong and South China Based on Air Logistics

Economic globalization in the past two decades has led to a fast pace of growth of many economies in Asia Pacific, and impacted on the region's growth in air cargo. This paper discusses the future of airport infrastructure and its effect on regional competitiveness in the form of a new type of airport — Global TransPark (GTP). It identifies China's need to forge such a critical infrastructure in the New Economy, and that South China is its best location. The Hong Kong Extended Metropolitan Region (EMR) in South China stands out among competitive regions in Asia in terms of geopolitical and institutional setting under ‘One Country, Two Systems’ as the best general location for Asia's first and potentially largest GTP. Forging a GTP will promote the EMR's overall competitiveness and hastens its economic restructuring. The paper then discusses the advantages of Zhuhai Airport as the site of the potential GTP which will also incorporate the other four nearby airports within the EMR. The GTP is also a new challenge for intra-EMR cooperation in terms of customs and tariff, air rights, ground handling, and land and water transport coordination between its airports and respective local governments.     

China's National Innovation System in Transition

Through a brief examination of China's science and technology history since the 1950s, this study suggests that the role of state is crucial for understanding the development, restructuring, and performance of China's innovation system. It traces the evolution of that system from a centrally controlled, segregated system geared toward weapons development during China's pre-reform period into one (since the early 1980s) oriented increasingly toward production of civilian goods, and seeking heightened enterprise participation and greater cooperation among industries, universities, and the government. Despite the reorientation of the system, the paper demonstrates the Chinese government's persistent role in guiding the changes. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers, H50, O31, O32. 1 figure, 72 references.     

REFORMING ROAD USER CHARGES: A RESEARCH CHALLENGE FOR REGIONAL SCIENCE*

ABSTRACT The way in which road usage is priced and road infrastructure is funded in the United States has become unsustainable. Support is growing for a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) fee to encourage efficient road usage and replace fuel taxes as the primary funding mechanism for road construction, operations, and maintenance. This paper addresses some questions about a VMT fee including what functions it should perform, how finely it should be differentiated, and how users are likely to adapt to it. To implement an efficient VMT fee, it will be necessary to overcome various technological, legal, institutional, and public acceptability barriers.     

Diversifying Australia’s Indo-Pacific infrastructure diplomacy

Infrastructure is an emerging component of Australian diplomacy. In recent years, many infrastructure and connectivity (I&C) programs have been launched in the Indo-Pacific, designed to close the ‘infrastructure gaps’ that plague the region. Competition amongst these, particularly between US and Chinese offerings, has posed a dilemma for Australian foreign policy. Australia has struggled to articulate a policy on China’s Belt and Road Initiative that balances strategic concerns against economic opportunities; while enthusiastic engagement with US alternatives risks perceptions of ‘choosing’ sides between the region’s two main powers. Yet the contemporary marketplace for Indo-Pacific I&C is much broader, with programs recently launched by many governments and regional organisations. These presents an opportunity for Australia to diversify its infrastructure diplomacy, particularly through engagement with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, cooperation with Japan and new avenues for commercial diplomacy. By engaging with a wider range of I&C partners and institutions, Australia can better integrate itself with the emerging infrastructure systems of the Indo-Pacific.     

新中国治淮方略演进研究

淮河流域是我国经济欠发达、生态环境较脆弱的区域,在我国生态环境演变中具有典型意义。淮河是新中国第一条进行系统治理的河流,也是第一条从立法层面进行污染综合治理和生态经济带建设的河流。新中国对淮河的治理,从提出“蓄泄兼筹”的治淮方针到贯彻“节水优先、空间均衡、系统治理、两手发力”的新时代治水思路,从关注行蓄洪区群众生产生活到脱贫攻坚,从治理污染到建设淮河生态经济带,对治理的规律性认识不断深化,治理方略不断演进,为探索河流治理、流域生态经济带建设、推动人与自然和谐发展等积累了宝贵经验,留下了深刻的历史启示。     

Japan's response to China's rise: regional engagement, global containment, dangers of collision

Japan and China's ability to manage their bilateral relationship is crucial for the stability of the East Asian region. It also has a global impact on the security and economic development of other regions. For just as China's rise has inevitably involved an expansion of its global reach, so Japan's responses to the challenges posed by China have increasingly taken a global form, seeking to incorporate new partners and frameworks outside East Asia. Japan's preferred response to China's regional and global rise in the post‐Cold War period has remained one of default engagement. Japan is intent on promoting China's external engagement with the East Asia region and its internal domestic reform, through upgrading extant bilateral and Japan–China–US trilateral frameworks for dialogue and cooperation, and by emphasizing the importance of economic power to influence China. Japan is deliberately seeking to proliferate regional frameworks for cooperation in East Asia in order to dilute, constrain and ultimately engage China's rising power. However, Japan's engagement strategy also contains the potential to tilt towards default containment. Japan's domestic political basis for engagement is becoming increasingly precarious as China's rise stimulates Japanese revisionism and nationalism. Japan also appears increasingly to be looking to contain China on a global scale by forging new strategic links in Russia and Central Asia, with a ‘concert of democracies’ involving India, Australia and the US, by competing for resources with China in Africa and the Middle East, and by attempting to articulate a values‐based diplomacy to check the so‐called ‘Beijing consensus’. Nevertheless, Japan's perceived inability to channel China's rise either through regional engagement or through global containment carries a further risk of pushing Japan to resort to the strengthening of its military power in an attempt to guarantee its essential national interests. It is in this instance that Japan and China run the danger of a military collision.     

China's Belt and Road Initiative in Central Asia and the Middle East

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims at connecting the continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa through a combination of infrastructure projects and soft‐power programs. All of the six land bridges and maritime routes under the BRI extend westward, mostly passing through Central Asia and the Middle East on land or by sea. Cooperation with countries in these regions will, according to China's design, meet its domestic energy needs, and grow the country's economy. China recognizes, however, that in Central Asia and the Middle East, the risks posed by what it calls the “Three Evils” — terrorism, extremism, and separatism can impact the success of the BRI. They can also impact stability in its own adjacent areas, including Xinjiang. Therefore, in concert with the BRI, China is also identifying and deploying bilateral and multilateral diplomatic mechanisms aimed at security coordination with BRI countries in these two volatile regions. This article provides an overview of BRI developments in the two regions and examines some of the diplomatic mechanisms China is using to coordinate security and reduce risks.