Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz
Chief Executive, InternationalCentre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)
GENEVA-OnSeptember 25th2015,193 members of the United Nations approved an ambitious 15-year plan to tacklethe world’s biggest problems, from eradicating poverty, to reducing inequalityto preserving the planet. Now comes the tough part: drumming up support andcrafting policies to achieve these goals and transform the world.
The newlyadopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) constitutes “a plan of action forpeople, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace inlarger freedom” supported by the global partnership. It provides a new contextfor national development and regional cooperation. It also ushers globaleconomic governance into “a new era,” as hailed by UN Secretary-General Ban KiMoon.
Against thisbackdrop, it is pertinent to ask whether and how the “One Belt, One Road”initiative, or New Silk Road, can serve the SDGs. The New Silk Road has twoparts, namely, the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime SilkRoad. The concept was introduced in late 2013, by President Xi Jinping ofChina, and supported by dozens of countries from the region. The broad supportfor this project, is shown/reflected by the diversity of 57 founding members ofthe Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank which is one of financial institutionsof the New Silk Road.
The New SilkRoad is both a vision and an action plan. It aims not only to enhance “fiveconnections” - policy, trade, infrastructure, capital and people-but also,according to China’s official “vision and proposed action” ① , to create acommunity with “shared interests, destiny and responsibilities”. The modern-daySilk Road will run through the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa,connecting the vibrant East Asia economic circle at one end and developedEuropean economic circle at the other, and encompassing countries that are lessdeveloped but with huge potential for economic development. This initiativeemphasizes openness and inclusiveness, and neither excludes any country norseeks any spheres of influence, constitutes the new framework of China’sneighborhood policy and is the key opportunity to build a greater Eurasianmarket.
The New Silk Road intersects with the SDGs in three major ways
Firstly, theultimate vision of the New Silk Road is in line with SDGs. As a continuation ofthe Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), SDGs go beyond addressing thesyndromes of poverty, and target the root causes of poverty, from violentconflicts to bad governance. In particular, SDGs put “sustained, inclusive andsustainable economic growth” at their core. The vision of the New Silk Road isechoing the SDGs by aiming at realizing “diversified, independent, balanced andsustainable development in these countries”② that participate in the New Silk Road.
Secondly, tradeand investment are major economic policy tools for reaching sustainabledevelopment③. TheSDGs document highlights that “international trade is an engine for inclusiveeconomic growth and poverty reduction, and contributes to the promotion ofsustainable development”, and “private business activity, investment andinnovation are major drivers of productivity, inclusive economic growth and jobcreation”. As to the New Silk Road, its official blueprint plans to “furtherenhance trade and investment facilitation, and establish a network of freetrade areas that meet high standards”. The action plan calls for innovations inour forms of trade, including expanding cross-border e-commerce, trade inservices. The action plan of the New Silk Road also has an element to “speed upinvestment facilitation, eliminate investment barriers, and push forwardnegotiations on bilateral investment protection agreements”.
Thirdly, bothSDGs and the New Silk Road put great emphasis on infrastructure for industrialdevelopment, which in many countries is still a bottleneck for sustainabledevelopment. The final SDGs document mentions the word of “infrastructure” 11times, and the New Silk Road action plan mentions the same word 12 times. In anutshell, SDGs call for developing “quality, reliable, sustainable andresilient infrastructure, including regional and trans-border infrastructure,to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus onaffordable and equitable access for all”, in particular related to ruraldevelopment, energy services, and transportation. Similarly, the New Silk Roadrecognizes the needs of countries “to improve the region's infrastructure, andput in place a secure and efficient network of land, sea and air passages,lifting their connectivity to a higher level”. The New Silk Road also promotes“green and low-carbon infrastructure construction and operation management,taking into full account the impact of climate change on the construction”.
When the worldstarts to discuss and take actions to implement the SDGs, the New Silk Road canmake its unique contribution by increasing the supply of public goods for theregion. First and foremost, it will serve as a new growth center of countriesin the region by investing in infrastructures, and the time now is criticalaccording to the IMF study④. Itis estimated that the investment in infrastructure along the New Silk Road from2015 to 2019 will reach US$ 3 trillion, which will create jobs, expandconsumption, and boost economic growth. In the meantime, the New Silk Road willfacilitate the flow of production factors, the interdependence of economies,and the integration of the backward economies into the regional and globalvalue chains. Furthermore, through policy cooperation and experience sharing,the New Silk Road can help countries to grow together and jointly addresspoverty, diseases, climate change, environmental protection and sustainableenergy.
Hereare a few thoughts about the next steps in building the New Silk Road:
Firstly, if theNew Silk Road has an updated version of action plans, it can be linked evenmore closely to the SDGs. This will then be viewed as one of the instrumentsavailable for countries to develop their national strategy, regionalcooperation and their position in global economic governance. Such apoliticallinkages will help eliminate possible concerns of certain countries.
Secondly, it isworth further exploration seeking synergy between the New Silk Road and Chineseforeign aid. On the one hand, China has become an emerging donor, or southerndevelopment partner, and plays an increasing important role in the post-2015development cooperation. However, although trade facilitation andinfrastructure connections are critical, they won’t automatically be translatedinto economic development, in particular for those people and regions that arein vulnerable situations. If China can strengthen its foreign aid inassociation with public and private investment in the New Silk Road, that wouldbe a great contribution to the region to achieve the SDGs.
Thirdly, the NewSilk Road needs more effective partnerships with various internationalorganizations. The United Nations and its regional offices can be naturalpartners for the implementation of the New Silk Road in the SDGs context,particularly in capacity-building projects on issues of strategic importancesuch as climate change, security and anti-terrorism, and gender equality.Equally important, the New Silk Road must work with local, national andinternational non-governmental organizations including business, think tanksand media, as they are sometimes more sensitive than United Nations agencies totheir community and real people, and, among others, can be extremely useful tocrisis-prevention and post-crisis management.
Fourthly, thesuccess of New Silk Road will rely on multilateral cooperation among countriesin using existing mechanisms such as the World Trade Organization (WTO),Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), ASEAN Plus China (10+1), Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation (APEC), Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) etc. The G20, the primeforum for international economic cooperation, can be a relevant platform topromote and clarify the vision of the New Silk Road and further engagecountries to participate.
Last but notleast, in the wake of refugee crisis in the world, particularly in the MiddleEast which is part of the designed New Silk Road, China could consideraccepting refugees and providing humanitarian assistance to the UN humanitarianagencies. It can be an important part of New Silk Road’s pillar to enhance“people-to-people bonds”, to implement one of the SDGs’ guidelines that peoplewho are vulnerable including refugees must be “empowered”. The SDGs call forcountries to “cooperate internationally to ensure safe, orderly and regularmigration involving full respect for human rights and the humane treatment ofmigrants regardless of migration status, of refugees and of displaced persons.Such cooperation should also strengthen the resilience of communities hostingrefugees, particularly in developing countries”. According to the Office of theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, worldwide displacement was atthe highest level ever recorded. The number of people forcibly displaced at theend of 2014 had risen to a staggering 59.5 million. Since early 2011, the mainreason for the acceleration has been the war in Syria, now the world'ssingle-largest driver of displacement⑤. Positive contributions China makes in refugeesettlement will set a positive image of China in the world stage.
The SDGs is aglobal dream supported by all the states’ commitment. Whether it will be just awish-list on paper relies on how nations take actions and whether regionalcooperation can work. There are loads of cooperation everywhere, but we need effectivecooperation. If implemented well, the New Silk Road can be an example ofeffective cooperation for the SDGs by creating public goods for the region andbeyond the region.
① “Vision andproposed actions outlined on jointly building Silk Road Economic Belt and21st-Century Maritime Silk Road”, available at: http://language.chinadaily.com.cn/2015-03/30/content_19950951.htm.
② “Vision and proposedactions outlined on jointly building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-CenturyMaritime Silk Road”, available at:http://language.chinadaily.com.cn/2015-03/30/content_19950951.htm
③ Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz, “Reflectionson global economic governance at the ‘start of a new era’”, available athttp://www.ictsd.org/bridges-news/biores/news/reflections-on-global-economic-governance-at-the-%E2%80%9Cstart-of-anew-era%E2%80%9D.
④ “WORLD ECONOMIC OUTLOOK, The TimeIs Right for an Infrastructure Push”, Abdul Abiad, David Furceri, and PetiaTopalova, September 30, 2014. Available at:http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2014/res093014a.htm
⑤ UNHCR’s annual Global TrendsReport: World at War, available at http://www.unhcr.org/558193896.html.
