Strategies for Cooperation with China in Emerging Countries: Focusing on the BRI

Recently, the need to advance into emerging markets has increased for Korea with changes in U.S. trade policy and the proliferation of trade protectionism around the world. In order to diversify its export markets and diplomacy, Korea is pursuing its New Northern Policy (NNP) and New Southern Policy (NSP). China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a new regional development strategy from an internal perspective and a cooperative initiative from an external perspective. The BRI is a realization of the new Silk Road Economic Zone covering land and sea, to be realized comprehensively in cooperation with China’s domestic and overseas development projects as a long-term mega-project, and which is expected to generate substantial economic ripple effects. China is working on the BRI to establish cooperative systems and plans, including infrastructure connections, and to promote collaborative projects with the five emerging regions of Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, CIS and Central Asia, South Asia and ASEAN. There is a need to link Korea and China’s national strategy and the target countries of Korea’s NNP and NSP, closely aligned with countries along China’s BRI route. This plan holds high potential for all countries involved. This study performs an overview of emerging regional strategies based on China’s BRI and an in-depth analysis of emerging countries’ economic cooperation policy toward China, with the aim of drawing important implications for Korea.