ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the ways in which the Chinese government itself has presented the belt and road initiative, structured by analysing the "vision and actions" document published in March 2015 which set out official Chinese thinking on the belt and road. It suggests that the ideas behind the initiative reflect wider thinking in China about foreign policy and global issues, in which Chinese policymakers see their approach as one of constructive reformer or innovator. The two "Silk Road" policy ideas have been combined into the concise phrase "One Belt, One Road". This "vision document" structures some analysis of Chinese policy. The first main section of the vision document then places the development of the initiative in the context of global developments and the Chinese economy. Section VI of the vision document, headed "China's Regions in Pursuing Opening-Up", makes clear that there is an important sub-national regional dimension to the belt and road initiative.
