THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE: CHINA'S GRAND STRATEGY

Abstract

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can be approached as a long-term strategic framework of China, implemented in a manner distinct from the Western model of grand strategy, which is usually articulated through clearly formulated doctrines. Rather than being defined by a single unified strategic document, China’s strategic thinking is primarily identified through policy practices and relatively stable patterns of behavior over time. From this perspective, BRI displays three characteristics commonly associated with “grand strategy” in the behavioral sense: (i) its linkage to a long-term political vision of national rejuvenation, in which the year 2049 represents a general national goal rather than a specific deadline for the completion of BRI; (ii) its capacity to mobilize and coordinate national resources across the economic, diplomatic, and geopolitical domains; and (iii) the emergence of a relatively consistent pattern of behavior across the Eurasian space, particularly in the Rimland region. Through the case of BRI, this article argues that China is shaping a new model of international relations in which infrastructure connectivity—rather than military power—becomes a key instrument for structuring power. Accordingly, the study contributes to the theoretical approach that the Belt and Road Initiative should not be understood merely as an economic program, but rather as a strategic instrument through which China seeks to reposition its role in a transforming international order.