China’s Governance Approach to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Partnership, Relations, and Law
Forthcoming in Global Trade and Customs Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 5, May 2019.
14 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2019 Last revised: 7 Mar 2019
Date Written: March 1, 2019
Abstract
This paper looks at how China conducts intergovernmental relations with the BRI countries. By examining the normative documents produced in the BRI cooperation as well as the rather informal BRI dialogue mechanisms, this paper argues that China adopts a partnership-based, relational approach in ordering bilateral, regional and global economic cooperation. The Chinese approach may offer an alternative governance model in international cooperation but we have to wait and see what will eventually happen in the already very dynamic BRI process from the perspectives of international law and international relations.
Keywords: Belt and Road Initiative; BRI; One Belt One Road; OBOR; Partnership-based governance; Relational Approach; Government-to-government relations
JEL Classification: K33; F15; F55
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation