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surrounding economic powers. China is one of the most important trading partners of the ASEAN. With the institutionalized exchange, investment and construction, and the running of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, China has stabilized its influence on the Southeast Asian region. It is the practice of geo-economic theory. However, due to the deepening mutual dependence, whether China will use economic strength to achieve other political attempts, let the argument of China‟s threat arise again.
1.3.2 Research Methods (1) Literature Review
This study explores the opportunities and challenges brought by OBOR in the development of the GMS. Therefore, it is necessary to start from the big strategic thinking of China‟s OBOR then to the Greater Mekong Subregion.
Using the relevant literature review could grasp the important theory of this topic, and the significance of the relevant theory for our study area. There, the process of literature can not only explore the important theory, but also establish the analytic angles of our study. Then we can analyze the regional opportunities and challenges and clearly understand the development context of the region, in the way of meeting international trend.
(2) Secondary data analysis
Secondary information is collected or recorded by predecessors‟ research.
It is usually a historical piece of information that has been collected, and the secondary information is usually collected faster and can help reduce the cost of collecting or investigating. In this study, we need to collect information on the economic development, government and enterprise investment, policy direction and implementation in GMS, the attitude of each member country, the competition of major powers in the region. The use of secondary data,
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including books, papers, media news, reviews, government publications, etc., can grasp and analyze the relevant information more effectively and efficiently.
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Chapter 2 The Strategic Meaning of One Belt One Road
In September and October 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed respectively "Silk Road Economic Belt" and "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" strategic concept when visiting Central Asia and Indonesia. Premier Li Keqiang listed the strategy in the whole-year main work in the Government Work Report of 2014. One belt one road has an extremely important strategic significance to comprehensively open the level of economy.
For China, OBOR attempts to stabilize the domestic economy, strengthen ties with neighboring countries, ensure energy supply, and contribute to the development of neighboring countries through infrastructure and assistance of capital and techniques. It is also expected to ease tensions brought by territorial disputes. To sum up, OBOR is indeed a macro strategy with multi-thinking.
This chapter will first describe the content of OBOR, and then focus on the GMS, to discuss geographical importance of OBOR in this area.
2.1 The content of OBOR 2.1.1 Background
At the 18th People’s Congress in 2012, China put forward the idea of
“improving the level of open economy”, calling for co-ordination of bilateral, multilateral, regional and sub-regional and open cooperation to promote interconnection with neighboring countries. In 2013, “The decision of the central committee of the Communist Party on deepening some major issues about reform” put forward the theme of “accelerating the construction of infrastructure and interconnection with neighboring countries, promoting Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road and forming a comprehensively new open pattern.” In 2014, Central Economic Work Conference put forward
“taking strategic planning” and implementing OBOR strategy. When the Boao
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Forum was held in 2015, China announced a concrete program for OBOR, showing ambitions of China to promote construction.
In fact, OBOR is the sequel of the brilliant ancient Silk Road.1 The ancient Silk Road was stepped by the people along the route, which carried spirit of peaceful cooperation, tolerance, mutual benefit and win-win. Under the challenge of the new era, the Asian and European countries are facing the pressure of changing. OBOR filled a new connotation to the ancient Silk Road, planned a better blueprint for China’s deep reform, and added new vitality to Asian-European regional cooperation. OBOR is regarded as a new opportunity by countries along the route. But China’s threat, strategic thinking behind economic development, huge financial needs, and competition among powers, have made this so-called “peaceful cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win”
dull.
2.1.2 Range
(1) Silk Road Economic Belt
Basically, the land-based Silk Road economic belt starts from Xian, and goes west to Central Asia, the Middle East, Russia and Europe. This economic belt contains countries from the ancient Silk Road to new areas, like South Asia and Southeast Asia. Silk Road economic belt has three main routes, one is to Europe through Central Asia and Russia, the other is to the Mediterranean countries through the Middle East, and the other is to the Indian Ocean region through Southeast Asia and South Asia.
(2) 21st Century Maritime Silk Road
The Maritime Silk Road is based on the ocean and complements Silk Road Economic Belt in order to enhance the overall benefits through more complete link. This route is to expand the coastal port facilities, starting from Chinese ports, passing by the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea,
1 袁新濤(2014)，絲綢之路經濟帶建設和 21 世紀海上絲綢之路建設的國家戰略分析。東南亞縱 橫，No.8，pp3-8。
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the Mediterranean, and arriving in the prosperous European region. The other route is bound for the Pacific Ocean countries through the South China Sea.
Figure 2.1 Map of One belt one road
Source: Global Times
22.1.3 Expected economic benefits
OBOR could promote trade and political relations among China, Asia and European countries and will also allow China to enhance domestic economic growth by exporting capital, technology and productivity. OBOR could also balance China’s internal regional development.
Along OBOR, there are more than 50 countries and 4.4-billion population are expected to be affected (63% of the world). Most of these countries are developing countries, which lack infrastructure. Some states have water shortage, lack of electricity and roads, and unsmooth commercial transactions.
2 Global Times (2015, March 31). China maps out 'One Belt, One Road' with action plan. Retrieved September 30, 2016, from: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/914743.shtml
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The average income of countries along the route falls mostly in the range of middle-low income. The high income countries (according to the World Bank, per capita income yearly: above 12,476 US dollars)3 accounted for 6.9%
of total population, about 300 million people; middle-low income countries