Towards a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind: Theoretical Basis and Practical Logic of Jointly Advancing the Belt and Road Initiative

Zhao Kejin

The Belt and Road Initiative （BRI） has embarked on a decade-long journey since its proposal in 2013 and has gone through such tough challenges as the COVID-19， the Ukraine crisis and intensifying rivalry among major countries. Rising to these challenges head-on， the BRI has shown strong resilience and vitality. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind， it is of strategic importance to summarize the decade-long implementation of the BRI and dig into the theoretical basis and practical logic of the high-quality development of the BRI.

The BRI is the Path to a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind

As the world is undergoing major changes unseen in a century， humanity is faced with such severe challenges as the deficit in governance， trust， peace and development. Jointly advancing the BRI is a crucial path to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

First， adhering to a correct view of history， the BRI stands at the historical height of the theme of our times and the international landscape， and provides an insightful answer to where humanity is heading， an important question of the world， of history and of our times. Driven by economic globalization and the information technology revolution， peace， development， cooperation and common progress have become the trend of the times. As a new round of technological and industrial revolutions is taking shape， new momentum for innovation-driven development is building up. With ever profound integration of interests， countries are unprecedentedly inter-linked. The BRI follows the general development trend of todays world， reflects the grand transformation of human history， represents a new vision of pursuing common global development in an open world economy， different from the anti-trend door-closing approach to development， represented by unilateralism， protectionism and xenophobia.

Second， looking at the bigger picture， the BRI takes into account both domestic and international dynamics， advances development and security in a coordinated way and builds an international cooperation platform enabling benign interaction between high-quality development and high-level security. In the face of mounting new problems and challenges since the beginning of the 21st century， the US Solution centering on the Washington Consensus， the European Solution focusing on promoting regional integration and the Japanese Solution depending on government-driven development have all fallen off the pedestal and some have even triggered more serious problems. The BRI stands as an important attempt to build an open world economy and a community with a shared future for mankind. It is a new development strategy and also a great vision with an eye on the common development of China， the region and the whole world. As a China-proposed solution for world peace and development， the BRI aims to foster a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation at the core and has become an engine to kick off a new round of world economic growth; The BRI represents a new development vision different from the Washington Consensus， regional integration and global hegemony， and opens up a new path to coordinately promote global development and security.

Third， adhering to the correct view of roles， the BRI combines “viewing the world from China” and “viewing China from the world” to accurately get the new direction of the common development of China and the world. As it pursues development， China faces ever more intense competition from other major countries. Also as China advances its overseas interests， it is deeply integrated with the rest of the world in such fields as food， energy， resources， technology， market， and finance， all of which have become critical factors affecting its peaceful development. In essence， the BRI focuses on global public issues and peoples needs， follows the principles of extensive consultation， joint contribution and shared benefits and leverages on bilateral， sub-regional， regional and global mechanisms to promote the orderly and free flow of economic factors， efficient allocation of resources and close integration of markets. The BRI also aims to facilitate coordination of economic policies among countries， promote closer regional cooperation at a larger scale and higher level， jointly create an open， inclusive， balanced regional economic cooperation framework that delivers benefits to all and innovate the actions， processes， and structures of global public goods. Therefore， the BRI is essentially a global public good with extensive consultation， joint contribution and shared benefits for all parties， featuring non-competition， non-exclusiveness and non-zero sum. Any country， whether it is a BRI partner or not， is welcomed to join this inclusive community with shared interests， shared future and shared responsibilities.

Theoretical Basis for High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation

From the grand perspective of building a community with a shared future for mankind， the BRI， as an international public good， follows the basic principles of consensus-driven development， joint contribution of multiple parties， equal responsibilities and rights， composite representation， openness and inclusiveness.

I. Consensus-Driven Development

American scholar Robert D. Putnam defines social capital as value norms of reciprocity and mutual trust formed on the basis of trust with “features of social organization” that facilitate coordination and cooperation to improve social efficiency. As an initiative focusing on international cooperation and development， the BRI cannot work without social capital based on international exchanges and dialogues and supported by consensus and trust. Serving as a platform for international exchanges， the BRI is well-positioned to foster consensus and trust in the international community， ignite mutual love and care， and build up social capital. Once the international social capital is built up and fully unleashed， the BRI will advance like a fire on the prairie. Within the BRI framework， the top priority of international cooperation is to promote government-to-government policy communication and cement people-to-people bond.

On the one hand， policy communication is the main channel for the accumulation of government social capital and the key to expanding the convergence of national interests of the BRI partner countries. Through policy communication and diplomatic dialogue， different countries work together to enhance inter-connectivity， seek common development by fully exercising complementary advantages， integrate and consolidate resources to achieve an effect as a whole system is greater than the sum of the parts.

On the other hand， people-to-people bond is the social foundation for the BRI development and the fundamental foothold of the steady progress of the BRI. Recent years have witnessed the rapid growth of various types of think tanks worldwide. These think tanks in BRI partner countries carry out joint studies and research， co-host fora and even host summit when sufficient conditions are in place. As they pool efforts for policy research on the BRI， they provide strong intellectual support for the deepening of the BRI development.

II. Joint Contribution of Multiple Parties

As a long-term plan， the BRI cannot be achieved with the efforts of merely one or two countries， but rather calls for the concerted efforts of all BRI partner countries. In the past decade， different from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development （OECD） established by Western developed countries and its institutional approach with emphasis on the making of standards and norms， the BRI has created and championed a new model of international cooperation which relies on the concerted efforts and joint contribution of all partner countries. Relevant parties are allowed to extensively discuss arrangements for investment returns， determine their rights and obligations， and receive agreed benefits. The core of the BRI is to promote various forms of mutually beneficial cooperation among governments， enterprises， social organizations and civil society organizations and jointly build a new comprehensive platform with the participation of multiple parties and covering various sectors.

III. Equal Responsibilities and Rights

Clearly-defined and equal responsibilities and rights are the fundamental principles that ensure the successful operation of all the organizations. While the responsibility-power relationship is static in the OECD and other existing international organizations， the rights a BRI partner assumes is equal to the responsibility it shoulders. If a partner takes on more responsibility in a certain area， it enjoys a larger share of equity in the joint contribution and thus assumes more rights. Some rights are established by formal organizational identity， while others are authenticated by flexible norms. Countries might position themselves differently in terms of responsibilities and rights in different topic areas. Within the framework of cooperation among countries， sovereign countries and inter-governmental international organizations， which are the primary legitimate representatives， enjoy equal status regardless of their sizes， wealth， and strength. Within the framework of cooperation among state and non-state actors， non-state actors are supported to access equal opportunities for participation with state actors， and their powers are defined in accordance with their responsibilities. On the BRI platform， all actors， in accordance with the rules of procedures and on the basis of self-determined will， mutual benefit， cooperation and interaction， reach consensus on projects， topics， challenges and other issues of common concern through equal-footing consultation and take concerted actions.

IV. Composite Representation

In accordance with the principle of equal responsibilities and powers， the BRI has established an institutionalized channel of composite representation and opened its door to all countries， international organizations and non-state actors. For example， the Belt and Road Summit for International Cooperation held in Beijing in May 2017 has welcomed representatives from countries， international organizations， non-governmental organizations and even individuals interested in the BRI. All representatives centered on certain topics， aimed to create and provide international public goods and were driven by joint contribution and agreed norms to advance the implementation of specific cooperation projects. The composite representation is significant in that it expands the means through which citizens， enterprises and civil society organizations could engage in the BRI and it mobilizes the enthusiasm and creativity of social forces that have long been on the periphery of international cooperation.

V. Openness and Inclusiveness

Openness and inclusiveness are the most essential principles governing the operation of the BRI. The vast majority of international cooperation mechanisms have been so far established upon unique cultural backgrounds. Whether the well-known international systems and norms dominated by Western countries， or the cooperation mechanisms in the Islamic world， Africa， Latin America or other non-Western regions， they can only be accurately interpreted within a framework of civilization and culture. While the OECD emphasizes mainstream European and American values， the BRI respects diverse social cultures and never presupposes the values of a certain civilization. Within the framework of BRI cooperation， all parties reach consensus through dialogue， exchange and consultation， adopt different arrangements on different issues， and never pursue unified solutions. Moreover， the BRI never adopts an exclusive approach towards any countries， international organizations or social organizations. The BRI is open and inclusive towards any parties with interest in engaging in the BRI cooperation， no matter in what capacity， in which topics and to what extent they wish to involve.

Practical Logic of High-Quality BRI Cooperation

In review of the decade-long devotion to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind， we will definitely come to the sober realization that the BRI cooperation means a long， complicated and undulating process. To advance the high-quality BRI development， it is imperative to set up an evaluation and assessment system for the overall development. In view of the closeness of the BRI regional cooperation architecture， an evaluation system consisting of five indicators， including level of inter-connectivity， familiarity， participation， governance and recognition， can be set up to systematically assess the progress of the BRI development.

The first is the level of inter-connectivity. It calls for an integrated approach to plan， implement and manage relevant projects to push forward the BRI infrastructure inter-connectivity. The infrastructure construction projects should be connected with government departments， enterprises and societies of the partner countries and a central platform integrating planning， implementation， management and service should be set up. Efforts should also be made to form a governance system engaging multiple stakeholders that focuses on the connection and synergy of policies， technical standards， development plans， implementation and management of projects， social norms and cultures to promote in-depth inter-connectivity of infrastructure.

The second is the level of familiarity. The infrastructure inter-connectivity ultimately serves to facilitate the flow of elements including that of people among countries. More frequent exchange of persons indicates higher level of familiarity among the BRI partner countries. Therefore， it is imperative to closely assess the familiarity among the people of partner countries in terms of the scope， frequency and quality of their exchanges， as a means to evaluate the progress of the BRI development.

The third is the level of participation. The BRI development is a process of wider participation and deeper cooperation. The scope， scale， degree， quality， outcomes of participation （by both institutions and individuals） can serve as critical indicators for evaluating the level of participation. For a specific project， it is easy to monitor the participation of relevant countries， enterprises， and social organizations. For cooperation mechanisms and frameworks， we can monitor the level of participation through the lens of membership， subscribed shares and frequency of participation.

The fourth is the level of governance. The BRI development cannot progress without taking into consideration such issues as institution building， assigning rights and responsibilities， standardizing collective actions and fulfilling norms. Since the BRI governance is of cross-border， multi-sector and multi-actor composite nature， its evaluation should focus on the level of institutionalization of such multiple actors as governments， enterprises and non-governmental organizations in the process of addressing a certain issue. The BRI development can take the Worldwide Governance Indicators， which are influential composite indicators， as references to build up a governance evaluation system.

The fifth is the level of recognition. The level of recognition refers to how people in partner countries understand and evaluate the BRI. Pursuing high-quality BRI development is a process of improving the level of recognition by partner countries. The important aspects of evaluating the recognition of the BRI include whether people realize that their countries are within the scope of BRI， whether they recognize a sense of belonging in the circle of BRI friends， and whether they recognize the BRI on the basis of other sense of belonging （to locality， ethnicity， state and region）.

Zhao Kejin is Vice Dean and Professor at the School of Social Sciences， Tsinghua University