| ID | 171082 |
| Title Proper | Unintended consequences of politicization of the belt and road’s China-Europe freight train initiative |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Tjia, Yin-nor Linda |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been widely criticized as a purely strategic project to enhance China’s international influence. Focusing on an ongoing yet underresearched signature BRI project, the China-Europe freight train routes, this article challenges such a sweeping characterization, which has masked the complexities of the reality. The freight initiative arose from local-level actors in multiple sites as a cost-effective means to make use of preexisting rail tracks across Asia to enhance transport efficiency. Their efforts later metamorphosed into what today looks like a grand unified project, politicized by the national government and subsidized by competing provincial capitals. The article provides an explanation for the complex consequences of the freight train project’s politicization. |
| `In' analytical Note | China Journal Vol.83; Jan 2020: p.58–78 |
| Journal Source | China Journal No 83 |
| Key Words | China ; Politicization ; International Influence ; Belt and Road Initiative (BRI ; China - Europe Freight Train Routes |