《文化经济学的“一带一路”(英文版)》:
Many domestic and foreign scholars like to use geopolitical or political economics tools to analyze the initiative, while I prefer to regard the initiative as a typical case of cultural economics. What is the product of the initiative? Those which can realize "double benefit"-economic and cultural benefit-are the products China wants and could receive respect from international community. In other words, the initiative's popularity is because it,s not only a beneficial and significant economic event, but also an attractive, resonant and remarkable cultural event.
In increasing voice area, the initiative is one kind of transcendence to traditional concept. In international community, the "center-margin order" exists for ages, which in international politics field features considering nation and state as a core and regulating world various political subjects through sovereign state framework with "typical European style". The characteristics of the order on global economy are: regarding globalization as a core and restraining world different economies by the "center-margin framework" with "capitalism style". Its inner logic is that "the center corrodes the margin", and "the margin attaches to the center". Center countries are those powers which seize leading roles in world system and dominate other countries relying on advanced technology and industrial products. Peripheral countries are those who have to be controlled by center countries by exporting natural resources and primary commodities. In nowadays, large-scaled illegal immigration issue in Europe shows that the peripheral people could easily bash the security of those center countries.
Under the background, the initiative is the transcendence to the above traditional concept. Chinese style voice, such as "decentralization" of road, belt, corridor and bridge, begins to rise up, which represents peace and toleration, and development trend of "non-polar" and "de-margin" in international society. The "connectivity" becomes a fashion, and Chinese style culture and philosophic thinking, including "pain is because blocked, while unblocking makes no pain", starts to gain attention.
1. Culture Is the Most Hard-Core and Essential Connectivity
In 2015, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang mentioned the "Belt & Road" Initiative several times in his government work report, and considered the initiative as one of the "three supporting belts" for Chinese economic development. Economy connects closely with culture. The initiative never ignores culture, in contrast, it gives culture the priority in many fields.
To put off all doubts about the initiative, China should strengthen cultural communication with different countries, nationalities and religion, break cultural barriers, eliminate cultural misunderstanding, boost cultural fusion, and promote mutual political trust, so as to gather support and understanding on the initiative, and make soft power stronger while let hard power softer. Cultivating oversea cultural market can efficiently promote cultural and economic pragmatic cooperation and promote cultural9 scientific and educational communication among China and countries along the route. With the help of cultivating oversea cultural market, we could build long-term cultural and economic cooperative mechanism between China and countries along the route, which is beneficial to show the world that the initiative contains peaceful, tolerant and win-win development concepts, and remove prejudice and misunderstanding.
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