Seeing China’s Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) from a Geocultural Perspective
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Abstract
This documentary research paper presents an application of a geocultural concept to propose new issues and a new approach to better understand China’s BRI. The paper argues that a clear picture of China’s BRI could not be achieved from a mere geopolitical perspective stressing global hegemonic competition between China and the United States or a geoeconomics perspective stressing competition in infrastructural investment, production enhancement and logistics development. Rather, we need to pay more attention to a geocultural perspective combining new focuses on cultural meaning and geographical space in cross-cultural communication to understand the ways in which culture ideas, beliefs, values, materials are diffused and accepted across national boundaries. This paper contends that the reconstructed meanings of the ancient silk road in BRI projects should be comprehended as a new form of China’s geocultural power.
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