Is China’s Belt And Road Action Plan A Form Of Nationalist Or Colonialist Expansion?

Abstract

China’s history of humiliation by foreign powers has shaped the country’s nationalist agenda, which has been a dangerous undertaking. The colonial and imperialist nations of the nineteenth and twentieth century’s, according to Chinese nationalists, are to blame for the loss of Chinese territory and national dignity. Until the British and Japanese wars of the 19th century brought them down, Chinese people were proud and believed in themselves as the hub of international diplomacy. With each change in the country’s
governmental hierarchy, Chinese citizens have experienced different nationalist emotions. Before the communist revolution, the governing Communist Party relied heavily on the concept of “national identity”to legitimize its control. President Xi Jinping’s
campaign slogan, “China Dream,” calls for regaining abandoned territory and recapturing the glories of China’s history. Because of other variables like economic advancement and prosperity, it is counterintuitive that the Nationalist card in support of the Communist
Party of China succeeds. According to BRI’s lofty China Dream, China’s economic stagnation may be reversed by expanding its worldwide reach via the mammoth infrastructure project BRI. Chinese nationalism’s renewed onslaught is reflected in the
BRI’s huge project, which wants to develop alongside the forces of globalization. The intended study is both informative and analytical. It intends to make use of both primary and secondary sources of knowledge. Accordingly, this study uses a historical method to
examine a new nationalist feature of the China Belt & Road Initiatives to better comprehend its influence and ramifications on world politics. It also explains what BRI stands for, and the issues and fallacies surrounding the gigantic Chinese project as the critics perceive it as a new colonialism, a manifestation of ultra-nationalism.