The Easternization of Developing Nations
At the opening ceremony of a Beijing forum, President Xi Jinping described China’s investment plans. Highlighting Chinese investment in “poverty projects” as the backbone of his geopolitical agenda, Xi pledged more than 100 billion dollars to development banks across the third world. Together with Vladimir Putin, the president of China plans to recreate the silk road, a beltway of railways, bridges and oil pipelines connecting China to Central Asia, Russia and Turkey. Promising to pump more than $125 billion into the scheme, Xi rejected critics’ warning about China’s neo-colonial ambitions and instead mocked Trump for his America First doctrine. Nevertheless, Xi’s grandiose economic plan beckons the question: Are China’s foreign investments a threat to U.S. hegemony?
From the beginning of the 21st Century, China’s global influence has been growing. The world’s most populated country is not afraid of showcasing its military prowess, but its economic capacity is equally formidable. China has surpassed the United States in exports, and the size of its population under the poverty line has decreased rapidly. Repudiating Western institutions like the European Union and NATO, Chinese leaders have created their own alliances such as BRIC, a coalition of China, Brazil, Russia and India.
We can no longer deny that China is a leader of the developing world, a threat to the old order and a menace to the United States. Rejecting protectionism and trade barriers, the recently inaugurated One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project spans more than 68 countries and revives the ancient silk road. Countries from Africa to Southeast Asia esteem China as an epitome of sustainable economic growth. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister views China as a “reliable ally in the fight against poverty and in the quest for prosperity,” and Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif applauds China’s leadership in the “new era of synergetic intercontinental cooperation.”
The summit in China is a direct counterpoint to the tenets of the Trump administration. Putin sarcastically referred to Trump in his speech, reminding the group of assembled nations that the idea of free trade is being “rejected by those who until very recently expounded them.” The scale of OBOR eclipses that of the G7 or G20 alliances and encompasses a diverse group of countries, developing and developed. More importantly, OBOR represents a caustic reminder of the disintegrating Trans-Pacific Partnership; at a time when the United States renounces its trade agreements, China boldly takes the reins.
We should be worried. Xi and Putin favor economic globalization but they do not favor the United States. Even then, their outward support for globalization conceals their neo-imperial aspirations. For many decades, China has assisted Africa with infrastructure projects, including telecommunication facilities, government buildings and factories. It has also funneled weapons and ammunition to belligerent leaders, supporting its human rights abuses and condoning their authoritarian regimes. In exchange, Nigeria and Sudan have exported their oil to China, and their populations provide for a sizeable base for Chinese consumer goods.
Rather than westernizing, countries in Central Asia and Africa will easternize. They will adopt the values underlying China’s government: competitive economic growth with non-democratic political institutions. Emerging economies will gravitate towards the Beijing Consensus, a neo-mercantilist model that rejects free-market development. They have found an alternative to the United States, whose hawkish foreign policy in Iraq and Vietnam undermined stability in the developing world. China, on the other hand, regards sovereignty as the tenet of its international relations, avoiding the “Beijing-knows-best” mindset and refusing to intervene in internal affairs. As a result, banks across the world are willing to grant Chinese companies contracts to develop infrastructure and invest overseas. Disoriented by the chaos in the EU and the nationalist rhetoric in the U.S., developing nations turn away from the West and toward the East.