Lancaster University, located in Lancaster, northwest of the UK, hosted the fifth interdisciplinary meeting of the “the Belt and Road” initiative this year. On the morning of the 23rd, the reporter walked into the lively atmosphere of the conference and was immediately attracted by the first keynote speaker, Giles Mohan.
Mohan is a professor at the Open University in the UK, who has been deeply involved in the field of international development for many years. Currently, he is leading the project “Repositioning Development: The Power and Impact of China’s Infrastructure Investment in Europe” funded by the European Research Council. The European Research Council, established by the European Union, is one of the top cutting-edge research funding institutions in Europe.
Mohan pointed out the core issue at the beginning: Nowadays, with the increasing popularity of geopolitical research, many Western analysts always question the purpose of Chinese funded projects from a geopolitical perspective, but pay little attention to the actual value of these projects to the landing areas.
We need to analyze how cooperative relationships are developed at the project level and think about how to achieve mutual benefit and win-win through these relationships, rather than falling into a zero sum game. The intensive case analysis and rigorous empirical research demonstrate Mohan’s solid academic foundation.
After the meeting, he told reporters that he had conducted long-term research on African development. When conducting field research in Africa at the beginning of this century, it was found that the number of Chinese people there was increasing, and many Chinese restaurants had also emerged. After investigation, it turned out that Chinese companies came to participate in infrastructure construction. He naturally turned his attention to the impact of Chinese projects on African development. With China’s proposal to jointly build the “the Belt and Road”, his research topic has been extended to the “the Belt and Road” research, especially the cooperation projects in Europe.
Through years of field research, Mohan found that China’s foreign cooperation projects include both projects led by large state-owned enterprises and numerous entrepreneurial projects by private enterprises. Simply attributing the activities of Chinese enterprises overseas to the dominance of “government+state-owned enterprises” and then examining them from the perspective of “political purposes” is not accurate and may miss opportunities for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. “Both Europe and Africa are trying to integrate into the global production and trade network in a benign way.” He stressed that under this background, the cooperation of jointly building the “the Belt and Road” is building a corridor and relationship network across space.
Mohan enthusiastically shared the changes in the overseas layout of Chinese enterprises that he has noticed: firstly, some Chinese enterprises have started to set up factories locally in Europe, creating employment opportunities for the local area and directly integrating production into the European supply chain. At the same time, familiarizing oneself with the rules of the European energy market through corporate mergers and acquisitions can achieve a win-win situation for all parties and effectively resolve some disputes.
Secondly, more and more Chinese enterprises are actively integrating into local society. In Manchester, UK, Chinese enterprises have worked hard for many years to promote the establishment of the Manchester China Forum. From technical cooperation to student exchange, from football culture to project investment, Manchester has established a long-term trust relationship with Chinese enterprises. In Piraeus Port, Greece, Chinese enterprises sponsor local football teams, actively participate in community interactions, and celebrate Greek and Chinese festivals with locals. The active integration of people is the most crucial, “said Mohan.” No matter which country you are in, you must first understand the local culture before discussing cooperation
After the speech, an audience member asked Mohan: Is it true that Western countries such as the UK are more cautious about accepting foreign investment due to “national security” risks, or is it due to a lack of confidence in themselves?
Mohan’s answer was unambiguous. He first takes Africa as an example: for many years, Western powers have used various rhetoric to package their actions as “benefiting people’s livelihoods”, but when China entered the African market, the West threw out the “debt trap” argument and fabricated the narrative of “the West saving Africa, China plundering Africa”. Its essence is to beautify Western countries such as the United States and Britain by vilifying China.
Furthermore, he directly pointed out that the “national security agenda” frequently advocated by the West is actually promoting protectionist policies under the guise of security. At the national level, elites discuss’ security challenges’ in think tanks and other occasions, claiming that ‘Chinese capital is a threat’, but for local people, the real threat is unemployment and economic recession. Therefore, we must ask: where does the risk come from? “Said Mohan.
Regarding hot topics such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, Mohan said that in the field of new energy, China has taken a leading position in key raw material and component production. If Europe wants to achieve green transformation and climate goals, it cannot do without China. Previously, they shouted ‘get rid of China’, “Mohan waved his hand and said with a smile.” Later, they realized that they couldn’t do it at all. In the end, they still had to return to the track of cooperation
Nowadays, more and more people realize: ‘We need China, and China also needs us. The future relationship will be more pragmatic,’ “said Mohan.
In the often biased Western public opinion field, Mohan’s empirical and pragmatic viewpoint is undoubtedly worth listening to carefully.