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Does the Belt and Road Initiative Promote Sustainable Development? Evidence from Countries along the Belt and Road

Author

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  • Hongjun Xiao

    (Institute of Industrial Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100836, China)

  • Junjie Cheng

    (Institute of Industrial Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100836, China
    Institute of Regional Modernization, Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, Nanjing 210004, China)

  • Xin Wang

    (Institute of Industrial Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100836, China)

Abstract

The “Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative” is an innovative idea proposed by China aimed at promoting common prosperity in the world. Although it has gained more and more recognition and response, there is also some one-sided understanding or distortion. Taking the 60 countries along the Belt and Road from 2010 to 2015 as samples, this paper mainly answers three questions from the perspective of sustainable development: (1) What is the current status of sustainable development in all countries along the “B&R”? (2) Is the “B&R Initiative” conducive to promoting the sustainable development of all countries along the “B&R”? (3) How could the “B&R” be better promoted? The study found that, first, various countries along the “B&R” have manifested an imbalanced characteristic in terms of the sustainable development, and there is much room for improvement in general. Second, the “B&R Initiative” has a positive impact on the sustainable development of all countries. However, due to the relatively short period of time, this impact is not significant at present. Third, to promote “B&R” construction, we must take sustainable development as the fundamental goal to jointly promote the connectivity of facilities, integrate the UN 2030 sustainable development goals, and strengthen the cross-border cooperation between non-governmental and non-profit organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Hongjun Xiao & Junjie Cheng & Xin Wang, 2018. "Does the Belt and Road Initiative Promote Sustainable Development? Evidence from Countries along the Belt and Road," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:12:p:4370-:d:185029
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    2. Jin-Young Jung & Wei Wang & Sung-Woo Cho, 2020. "The Role of Confucius Institutes and One Belt, One Road Initiatives on the Values of Cross-Border M&A: Empirical Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-20, December.
    3. Mingchun Cao & Ilan Alon, 2020. "Intellectual Structure of the Belt and Road Initiative Research: A Scientometric Analysis and Suggestions for a Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-40, August.
    4. Qianxiao Zhang & Syed Asif Ali Naqvi & Syed Ale Raza Shah, 2021. "The Contribution of Outward Foreign Direct Investment, Human Well-Being, and Technology toward a Sustainable Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-29, October.
    5. Ullah, Atta & Pinglu, Chen & Ullah, Saif & Qaisar, Zahid Hussain & Qian, Ningyu, 2022. "The dynamic nexus of E-Government, and sustainable development: Moderating role of multi-dimensional regional integration index in Belt and Road partner countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Lin Chen & Fengyun Mu, 2021. "Spatiotemporal characteristics and driving forces of terrorist attacks in Belt and Road regions," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-24, March.
    7. Jiangmin Yang & Desheng Xue & Gengzhi Huang, 2020. "The Changing Factors Affecting Local Environmental Governance in China: Evidence from a Study of Prefecture-Level Cities in Guangdong Province," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-17, May.
    8. Chunyang Pan & William X. Wei & Etayankara Muralidharan & Jia Liao & Bernadette Andreosso-O’Callaghan, 2020. "Does China’s Outward Direct Investment Improve the Institutional Quality of the Belt and Road Countries?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-21, January.
    9. Yanzhe Zhang & Xiao Yu & Jian Zhang & Bowen Zou, 2020. "Evaluation of the Obstacles to Developing the Aynak Copper Mine in Afghanistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-13, February.
    10. Hamid Jafarzadeh & Dongfeng Yang, 2023. "Impacts of the Belt and Roads Initiative on Sustainability: Local Approaches to Spatial Restructuring in the Aras Special Economic Zones," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-20, August.
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