Issue 5, 2023

Reconstructing Globalization 

——The 10th Anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative

Contents

▍Overseas

Revitalizing the “Arsenal of Democracy”: The Crisis of Military Industrial Capacity in the U.S. and Europe and its Responses Ren Ci

The Russia-Ukraine War, essentially a contest between the Western world and Russia, has shifted the strategic priorities of the West led by the U.S., Western nations have embarked on a historic effort to re-arm, allocating substantial public and private resources to bolster the military industry. This initiative is aimed at preparing for the protracted conflict between Russia and Ukraine and also for addressing geopolitical risks in the Asia-Pacific area. Nevertheless, the West faces several challenges in the reconstruction of the ‘Arsenal of Democracy’, and it is imperative to recognize that this objective cannot be accomplished in a single stride.

Critical Mineral Resources: From “Industrial Monosodium Glutamate” to “New Petroleum” Deng Huanna, Li Zhupan

▍Cover Story: Restructuring Globalization—The 10th Anniversary of "the Belt and Road" (BRI) 

From De-risking to De-dollarization: BRICS Currencies and the Future of the International Financial Order Gao Bai

Beyond the Debt Problem—Africa’s Open Development Financing Path Tang Xiaoyang

The international development cooperation driven by the North and China’s Global Development Initiative differs in the underlying ideas of development and governance. The North takes governance as precondition for African development, while China regards development as the paramount and strikes a balance between governance and development. The governance-first aid led by the North puts a lot of resources to social sectors buts neglects the production sectors of Africa, which contributes to the internal circulation of the Northern aid industry. The production-focused Chinese aid linked Chinese funds, technology, and market with African countries, which contributes to the economic transformation of Africa. Based on production aid, China should help Africa improve its status in the global production chain with the support of the Global South circulation.

For Africa's Autonomy: Productive Aid that Prioritize the Development of Nation Zhou Jinyan

Brazil’s Reindustrialization and the Role of China in This Process Wang Fei

▍Classics Revisited

Establishing the Party, the Army, and the Politics: The Chinese Pathway of Revolution Wu Chongqing

▍Observation·Culture

Customizing the Image of Nation: The Special DNA of Japanese Cultural Output Pan Nini

▍Historical Perspective

Railway as the Pivot of the Land Power Yan Peng

▍World View

From Imperial Frontier to a Silk Road Pivot: The Modern Transformation of Central Asia Shi Yue

“Dinning in the East, Lying in the West?”—The New Middle Zone Facing a Strategic Choice Between China and the United States Zhong Zhun

Nowadays, a number of countries are willing to cooperate with China and US at the same time. The article uses the metaphor of ‘Dinning in the East, lying in the West’ to analyze the choices of these “new intermediate zones” countries. The ‘good but poor’ and ‘ugly but rich’ features of the two major powers have led to their division of labor at the systemic level. At the domestic level, the perceptions, and choices of “new intermediate zones” are mainly influenced by their party politics, particularly the divergent preferences of governing parties and rotation in government. 

▍Wealth of Nation

Leveraging Capital with the Visible Hand of Nation—Government Guided Funds and National Roles in High-Tech Industries Huang Dongya, Zhang Chenxi

As a kind of “patient capital”, government-guided fund is an important financial tool for the state to mobilize social capital to participate in the development of high-tech industry. The emergence of government-guided funds has been driven by special policies, budget law reform and state-owned enterprise reform, in which the state plays multiple roles of attracting capital, playing with capital and supervising capital. However, these multiple roles have caused government-guided funds to face the tension between multiple objectives. In the future, it is necessary to further explore how to effectively promote the capital driving force for the development of high-tech industries.

▍Observation·Society

Turning Pale at the Mention of Job: A Psychological Analysis of Contemporary Youth Employment Cao Dongbo, Lyu Xiaoning

Producing "Luochuan Apple": The Joint Force of Government, Market and Society in Rural Revitalization Chen Hangying

Taking Luochuan apple industry as an example, this paper tries to present a path for the revitalization of rural industries. The example reveals that for a rural industry to develop steadily and healthily, the government, the market and the rural society are indispensable, and they need to form a joint force around the goal of industrial prosperity. This is the mechanism of the rural industry "trinity" development. In the final analysis, the revitalization of rural industry cannot ignore the peasant. Only with peasant as the main body and the village’s development as the goal can the rural industry flourish and its effect of enriching the people can be fully exerted.

Why Enterprises Take the Initiative to Participate in Social Innovation: Taking Social Emergency Response as an Example Pan Tong, Fang Lijie

▍Overseas Ethnography

Waxing and Waning: South Africa and the Emerging New Economies Southeast Africa Cao Fengze