DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/jis.24.2.2025.263-285

Reorienting the global economy in China's belt and road initiative

*Probo Darono Yakti scopus publons  -  Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia
Siti Rokhmawati Susanto  -  Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia
I Gede Wahyu Wicaksana scopus  -  Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia
Nadya Afdholy scopus  -  Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia
Rumi Azolla Ladiqi  -  Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
Open Access Copyright (c) 2025 Probo Darono Yakti, Siti Rokhmawati Susanto, I Gede Wahyu Wicaksana, Nadya Afdholy, Rumi Azolla Ladiqi under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Citation Format:
Abstract

This study aims to examine China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation under the leadership of President Xi Jinping with more than 100 countries in the Indo-Pacific region as a geo-economic order of developmentalism in the Indo-Pacific region to rival the United States (US) with its liberalism. BRI offers developmentalism based on investment-driven economic growth and infrastructure boom. BRI is also a geoeconomic phrase that shows China's geopolitical interest in controlling at least 45 percent of the world economy, whose potential lies along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road. This explanatory research tries to explore further the grand strategy carried out by China in a transformation from the previous leadership era of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Hu Jintao, to Xi Jinping. Then, BRI expanded, as Chinese investment in infrastructure expanded throughout the Indo-Pacific. The data was drawn from a literature study spread across official Chinese government websites (china.gov), journal editors, online media, and e-book provider sites. The findings highlight the declining role of the US in the international world under the leadership of Donald Trump, so that it a strategic opportunity for China to overtake the US. However, the US is no longer the only world hegemon. China is trying to introduce developmentalism as a counter-order to the liberalism that has been promoted by the US.

Fulltext View|Download Email colleagues
Keywords: Belt and Road Initiative; Grand Strategy; China; Developmentalism; Indo-Pacific

Article Metrics:

Article Info
Section: Articles
Language : EN
Most cited articles
Peran Indonesia Dalam Memerangi Terorisme ECONOMIC RESILIENCE PADA INDUSTRI KREATIF GUNAMENGHADAPI GLOBALISASI DALAM RANGKA KETAHANAN NASIONAL More cited articles
  1. Amsden, A. H., & Chu, W. (2003). Beyond late development: Taiwan’s upgrading policies. MIT Press
  2. Balding, C. (2018, October 24). Why democracies are turning against Belt and Road. Foreign Affairs. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2018-10-24/why-democracies-are-turning-against-belt-and-road
  3. Beeson, M. (2009). Developmental states in East Asia: A comparison of the Japanese and Chinese experiences. Asian Perspective, 33(2), 5-398
  4. Beeson, M. (2009). Hegemonic transition in East Asia? The dynamics of Chinese and American power. Review of International Studies, 35(1), 95-112
  5. Bendini, R. (2016). In-depth analysis: The cultural revolution in China: Its 50th anniversary was ignored but its legacy lives on today. European Union
  6. Blackwill, R. D., & Harris, J. M. (2016). Chapter two: Geoeconomics and the international system. In War by other means: Geoeconomics and statecraft (pp. 34-64). Harvard University Press
  7. Brands, H. (2014). What good is grand strategy? In Power and purpose in American statecraft from Harry S. Truman to George W. Bush (pp. 1–10). Cornell University Press
  8. Breslin, S. (2013). China and the global order: Signalling threat or friendship? International Affairs, 89(3), 615-634
  9. Breslin, S. (2013). China and the global political economy. Palgrave Macmillan
  10. Bresser-Perreira, L. C. (2017). The two forms of capitalism: Developmentalism and economic liberalism. Revista de Economia Política, 37(4), 680-713
  11. Callahan, W. A. (2016). China dreams: 20 visions of the future. Oxford University Press
  12. Callahan, W. A. (2016). China’s “Asia dream”: The Belt Road Initiative and the new regional order. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 1(3), 226-243
  13. Cavanna, T. P. (2019). Unlocking the gates of Eurasia: China’s Belt and Road Initiative and its implications for US grand strategy. Texas National Security Review, 2(3), 40-63
  14. Chatzky, A., & McBride, J. (2020). China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative
  15. Chu, Y. (2016). Chapter 1: The Asian developmental state: Ideas and debates. In The Asian developmental state (pp. 13-24). Palgrave Macmillan
  16. Clinton, H. (2011, October 11). America's Pacific century. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/11/americas_pacific_century
  17. Colombo, A. (2019). Trump’s America and the decline of the liberal world. In Colombo, A. & Magri, P. (Eds.), The end of a world: The decline of the liberal order (pp. 27-40). Ledizioni Ledi Publishing
  18. Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative research: Designing and conducting research with a grounded approach (4th ed.). SAGE Publications
  19. Deenen, P. J. (2017). The tragedy of liberalism: The end of the end of history? The Hedgehog Review. https://hedgehogreview.com/issues/the-end-of-the-end-of-history/articles/the-tragedy-of-liberalism
  20. Deenen, P. J. (2019). Chapter seven: The degradation of citizenship. In Why liberalism failed (pp. 156-158). Yale University Press
  21. Dellios, R., & Ferguson, R. J. (2013). China’s quest for global order: From peaceful rise to harmonious world. Lexington Books
  22. Deng, X. (1993). Zai Wuchang, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shanghai Dengdide Tanhua Yaodian (Outline of talks in Wuchang, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Shanghai). In Deng Xiaoping Wenxuan (Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping) (Vol. 3, p. 372). People’s Press
  23. Du, J., & Zhang, Y. (2018). Does One Belt One Road initiative promote Chinese overseas direct investment? China Economic Review, 47, 189-205
  24. Fengming, Z. (2007). Zhao Ziyang Ruanjinzhongde Tanhua [Conversations with Zhao Ziyang under house arrest]. Open Press
  25. Ford, J. (2017, January 21). The pivot to Asia was Obama’s biggest mistake. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2017/01/the-pivot-to-asia-was-obamas-biggest-mistake/
  26. Ghiasy, R., & Zhou, J. (2017). The Silk Road Economic Belt: Considering security implications and EU–China cooperation prospects. SIPRI
  27. Goldstein, A. (2005). Rising to the challenge: China’s grand strategy and international security. Stanford University Press
  28. Gore, C. (2000). The rise and fall of the Washington consensus as a paradigm for developing countries. World Development, 28(5), 789-804
  29. Hatch, W., & Yamamura, K. (1996). Asia in Japan’s embrace: Building a regional production alliance. Cambridge University Press
  30. He, K. (2008). Institutional balancing and international relations theory: Economic interdependence and balance of power strategies in Southeast Asia. European Journal of International Relations, 14(3), 489-518
  31. Hill, R. C. (2007, December 20). Neoliberalism & developmentalism: The East Asian experience. Taipei Discussion Forum. https://msu.edu/user/hillrr/Taipei%20Talk%20Neolib%20&%20Dev.htm
  32. Hillman, J. E. (2018, January 25). China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Five years later. CSIS. https://www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-five-years-later-0
  33. Hillman, J. E. (2018, March). Game of loans: How China bought Hambantota. CSIS Briefs: Maritime Silk Road
  34. HKTDC Research. (2019). The Belt and Road Initiative. http://china-trade-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/The-Belt-and-Road-Initiative/obor/en/1/1X000000/1X0A36B7.htm
  35. Hu, J. (2005). Build towards a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity. Statement at the United Nations Summit, New York, 15 September
  36. Hu, W., Fang, X., Ye, C., Hu, Z., & Li, C. (2024). Obstacles to geo-economic cooperation in the China-Myanmar Indian Ocean new channel and its collaborative mechanisms. Tropical Geography, 44(7), 1161–1170
  37. Johnson, C. (1987). Political institutions and economic performance: The government-business relationship in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In F. Deyo (Ed.), The political economy of the new Asian industrialism (pp. 136-164). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press
  38. Johnston, A. I. (2019). China in a world of orders: Rethinking compliance and challenge in Beijing's international relations. International Security, 44(2), 9-60
  39. Jones, L., & Zeng, J. (2018). Understanding China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’: Beyond ‘grand strategy’ to a state transformation analysis. Third World Quarterly, 39(8), 1-18
  40. Joseph, W. A. et al. (Eds.). (1991). New perspectives on the cultural revolution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
  41. Kennedy, P. (1987). The rise and fall of the great powers. Random House
  42. Kennedy, P. (1991). Grand strategy in war and peace: Toward a broader definition. In Grand strategy in war and peace (pp. 1–6). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press
  43. Kolmaš, M., & Kolmašová, Š. (2019). A ‘pivot’ that never existed: America’s Asian strategy under Obama and Trump. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 1-19
  44. Kompas.com. (2017). Makna inisiatif "Belt and Road" bagi hubungan Indonesia-China. Nasional. https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2017/05/14/07292091/makna.inisiatif.belt.and.road.bagi.hubungan.indonesia-china?page=all
  45. Kompas.com. (2019). Proyek kereta cepat Jakarta-Bandung telan Rp 40 triliun hingga akhir 2019. Whats New. https://money.kompas.com/read/2019/08/07/135252526/proyek-kereta-cepat-jakarta-bandung-telan-rp-40-triliun-hingga-akhir-2019
  46. Lam, W. W.-L. (2015). Chinese politics in the era of Xi Jinping: Renaissance, reform, or retrogression?. Routledge
  47. Leverett, F., & Leverett, H. M. (2012). The balance of power, public goods, and the lost art of grand strategy: American policy toward the Persian Gulf and rising Asia in the 21st century. Penn State Journal of Law and International Affairs, 1(2), 203–206
  48. Li, X., & Worm, V. (2011). Building China’s soft power for a peaceful rise. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 16(1), 69-89
  49. Li-an, L., & Keyang, Z. (Eds.). (1993). Deng Xiaoping yu gaige kaifang shisi nian (Deng Xiaoping and fourteen years of reforms and opening up). Beijing: Beijing Normal University Press
  50. Lieberthal, K. G. (2011). The American pivot to Asia. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-american-pivot-to-asia/
  51. Lons, C. (2019). Introduction, China’s great game in the Middle East. European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) Policy Brief
  52. Luttwak, E. N. (1990). From geopolitics to geoeconomics: Logic of conflict, grammar of commerce
  53. MLM Revolutionary Study Group (MLMRSGUS). (2007). Chinese foreign policy during the Maoist era and its lessons for today
  54. MLM Revolutionary Study Group (MLMRSGUS). (2007). Evaluating the cultural revolution in China and its legacy for the future
  55. Mold, A. (2012). Will it all end in tears? Infrastructure spending and African development in historical perspective. Journal of International Development, 24(2), 237–254
  56. NPR.org. (2018). U.S. imposes new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports. https://www.npr.org/2018/09/18/649060308/u-s-imposes-new-tariffs-on-200-billion-in-chinese-imports
  57. Nye, J. S. (2006). Think again: Soft power. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2006/02/23/think-again-soft-power/
  58. Oxford Business Group. (2019). China's One Belt, One Road initiative reshaping South-east Asia. https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/analysis/road-china%E2%80%99s-one-belt-one-road-initiative-reshaping-south-east-asia
  59. Posen, B. (1984). The sources of military doctrine: France, Britain, and Germany between the world wars. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press
  60. Ramo, J. C. (2004). The Beijing consensus. Foreign Policy Centre
  61. Renard, T., & Biscop, S. (Eds.). (2013). The European Union and emerging powers in the 21st century: How Europe can shape a new global order. Ashgate Publishing Ltd
  62. Rodrik, D. (2006). Goodbye Washington consensus, hello Washington confusion? Journal of Economic Literature, 44(4), 973-987
  63. Rolland, N. (2019). China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Underwhelming or game-changer? The Washington Quarterly, 42(2), 131-145
  64. Rosecrance, R., & Stein, A. (1993). Beyond realism: The study of grand strategy. In R. Rosecrance & A. Stein (Eds.), The domestic bases of grand strategy (pp. 3–5). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press
  65. Ross, R. (2012). The problem with the pivot: Obama's new Asia policy is unnecessary and counterproductive. Foreign Affairs, 91(6), 70–82
  66. Schiavenza, M. (2013). What exactly does it mean that the U.S. is pivoting to Asia? China, The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/04/what-exactly-does-it-mean-that-the-us-is-pivoting-to-asia/274936/
  67. Shambaugh, D. (2020). Where great powers meet: America and China in Southeast Asia. Oxford University Press
  68. Smith, T. (1994). Requiem or new agenda for third world studies. World Politics, 37(4), 533–534
  69. Soilen, K. S. (2012). Geoeconomics. Bookboon.com
  70. Stiglitz, J. E. (2002). Globalization and its discontents. W.W. Norton & Company
  71. Stokes, D. (2018). American hegemony and the future of the liberal international order. International Affairs
  72. Stubbs, R. (2018). Order and contestation in the Asia-Pacific region: Liberal vs developmental/non-interventionist approaches. The International Spectator, 53(1), 138–151
  73. Summers, T. (2016). China’s “new silk roads”: Sub-national regions and networks of global political economy. Palgrave Pivot
  74. Sun, D. (2019, October). China’s approach to the Middle East: Development before democracy. In China’s great game in the Middle East (ECFR Policy Brief, pp. 23)
  75. Tan, K., & Pang, S. (2005). From efficiency-driven to innovation-driven economic growth: Perspectives from Singapore. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 3569
  76. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). (1967, May 25). The Chinese cultural revolution. National Intelligence Estimate No. 13-7-67
  77. The Economist. (2010, April 15). An emerging challenge. https://www.economist.com/business/2010/04/15/an-emerging-challenge
  78. The Economist. (2010, December 2). The dangers of a rising China. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2010/12/02/the-dangers-of-a-rising-china
  79. The Economist. (2011, August 4). Power shift. https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2011/08/04/power-shift
  80. The Economist. (2011, June 25). Rising power, anxious state. https://www.economist.com/special-report/2011/06/25/rising-power-anxious-state
  81. The Economist. (2019, August 1). Emerging-market dreams of rich-world incomes meet reality. https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2019/08/01/emerging-market-dreams-of-rich-world-incomes-meet-reality
  82. The Guardian. (2017, April 13). 'Great chemistry': Trump abandons China criticism as Russia ties suffer
  83. The World Bank. (2018, March 29). Belt and Road Initiative. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/regional-integration/brief/belt-and-road-initiative
  84. Vogel, E. F. (2011). Deng Xiaoping and the transformation of China. Belknap Press
  85. Wanandi, J. (2019, May 13). Insight: Seeking global cooperation through Belt and Road Initiative. The Jakarta Post. https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2019/05/13/insight-seeking-global-cooperation-through-belt-and-road-initiative.html
  86. Warner, A. M. (2014). Public investment as an engine of growth. IMF Working Paper No. 14/148
  87. Wehringer, G. (2011). Fostering long-term investment and economic growth: Summary of a high-level OECD financial roundtable. OECD Journal: Financial Market Trends, 2011(1)
  88. Williamson, J. (1990). What Washington means by policy reform. In J. Williamson (Ed.), Latin American adjustment: How much has happened? (pp. 7-38). Institute for International Economics
  89. Xi, J. (2018). Work together for an open global economy that is innovative and inclusive. Keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 1st China International Import Expo. Xinhuanet. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-11/05/c_137583815.htm
  90. Xi, J. (2018, November 17). Jointly charting a course toward a brighter future. Full text of Chinese President Xi's speech at APEC CEO summit. Xinhuanet. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-11/17/c_137613904.htm
  91. Xinhua. (2015, March 28). China unveils action plan on Belt and Road Initiative. http://english.www.gov.cn/news/top_news/2015/03/28/content_281475079055789.htm
  92. Xinhua. (2015, September 3). Full text: Xi Jinping in military parade speech vows China will 'never seek hegemony, expansion'. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1854943/full-text-xi-jinping-military-parade-speech-vows-china
  93. Yü, B., & Chung, T. (1996). Dynamics and dilemma: Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong in a changing world. Nova Publishers
  94. Yu, Q. (1998). Capital investment, international trade and economic growth in China: Evidence in the 1980–1990s. China Economic Review, 9(1), 73–84
  95. Yunling, Z. (2016). Chapter 1: Belt and Road Initiative as a grand strategy. In J. Z. Jie (Ed.), China’s Belt and Road initiatives and its neighboring diplomacy. World Scientific
  96. Zhang, Y. (2018). China’s new foreign policy under Xi Jinping: Towards “peaceful rise 2.0”? Global Policy, 9(3), 384-392
  97. Zhao, S. (2016). The Cultural Revolution: A people's history, 1962–1976. Oxford University Press
  98. Zhou, J. (2010). Chapter 1: China’s peaceful rise in a global context. In China’s peaceful rise in a global context. Lexington Books

Last update:

No citation recorded.

Last update: 2026-06-20 09:13:06

No citation recorded.