ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the connection between China’s domestic Blue Economy development efforts and Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative. This connection is what marks the Blue Economy concept as not only an important economic and innovation element of China’s domestic development strategy but also as a novel geostrategic element in China’s quest for maritime power, one that is particularly relevant to the Indo-Pacific region and the US–China relationship. The chapter analyzes four phases in the evolution of China’s Blue Economy concept and how Beijing’s views on this concept have changed over time.
