ABSTRACT
In 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) jointly issued a document entitled “Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road”, a highly strategic declaration endorsed by the State Council. Most foreign policy terms—such as the “China Dream” or the “Harmonious World”—mirror the PRC’s quest for a reform and restructuring of the existing institutional settings without pushing for a complete overthrow and destabilization of international order. The BRI network might, in the decades to come, also mutate from being centered on hardware infrastructure to providing software logistics and “virtual” services. The BRI’s concept of connectivity comprises energy grids as well as telecommunication networks. The provision of global public goods is linked to the formulation of global rules and standards.
