Abstract
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has evolved from its ambitious beginning into a framework focused on high-quality development (HQD), emphasizing environmental sustainability and people-centered development. This study examines to what extent these new directives are implemented in the context of China’s overseas economic zones (OEZs), employing a multi-actor-influence model to analyze the complex interactions and challenges inherent in these projects. Focusing on the Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone (VSDZ) in Laos, our analysis identifies three primary institutional challenges: fragmentation between the central and local governments in China, structural constraints imposed on Chinese businesses, and inadequate cooperation between Chinese and host country actors. These challenges underscore the complexities of translating Beijing’s top-down policy into effective action on the ground. The paper concludes with a discussion of the broader implications of these findings for the BRI’s future development.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 880-896 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Journal of Contemporary China |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 155 |
| Early online date | 18 Jul 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2025 |
Bibliographical note
The authors would like to express their deep appreciation for the constructive feedback from Maria Repnikova, the anonymous external reviewers and the chief editor of JCC.Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Funding
The fieldwork of this research is funded by Seed Research Fund (F#102283) provided by Lingnan University in Hong Kong. An early draft of this paper was presented in the annual conference of AAS 2023.
Keywords
- Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
- China
- high-quality development
- Laos
- overseas economic zones (OEZs)
