Economics and trade impact of the Silk Road Economic Belt Initiative

• Main Author: Pitakdumrongkit, Kaewkamol
• Other Authors: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: International Political Economy; Silk Road; Economic Belt
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/137059
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This paper examines the effects of BRI on Southeast Asian countries and global economic relations. It aims to answer the following puzzles: (1) What are the key trends of BRI?; (2) How has BRI affected China’s trade and investment patterns, its diplomatic reach, and its soft power in the Southeast Asian region?; (3) What are the economic implications of BRI for global economic relations?; and (4) Why is BRI still perceived as a debt trap by the regional states? To shed light on these questions, I chose to analyse the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor (CICPEC) under the Silk Road Economic Belt.