The opportunities created by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the past 10 years have been extremely important not only for the world but also for the Türkiye. In the time since it was first announced, Türkiye was one of the first countries to join the project. In this process, relations between the two countries gradually developed.
In this context, as The Belt and Road Initiative Association for Economy and Culture, we talked to Kamil Erdoğdu, CRI Turkish Editor-in-Chief, about the development of the BRI in 10 years and the reflections of the project on the Ankara-Beijing relations.
1. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is seen as one of the most significant projects of the 21st century, will be celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. The BRI is a transcontinental project. When we look at the past 10 years, what would you say about the BRI?
It has been 10 years since Chinese President Xi Jinping introduced the BRI. In these 10 years, the world met a new culture of trans-countries relations. China has proposed a new type of collaboration model to other countries. In fact, this model was built on the principles of “Peaceful Coexistence”, which China has long championed. These principles which announced for time first time in the end of 1953 by Zhu En Lai, then Prime Minister of People’s Republic of China are mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit. It can be said that the BRI has added some ethical rules to these principles in the framework of economic and trade relations between the countries, such as win-win concept, development by sharing and development together.
2. You are a journalist who spent about 18 years in China. You published a book called “Bilmediğimiz Çin” (The China We Don’t Know) in July 2021. In your book, you refer to the “truthful misconceptions” about China’s political and social structure. You state that the negative perception towards China originates from the Western media. Can it be said that the BRI is suffering from the same problem?
It is clear that negative perception in the Western media has been run against China. Unfortunately, manipulated media and academics also contribute to this. The BRI is also the target of the anti-China campaign. The West, especially the USA, is trying to smear this Initiative with lies, such as China’s pursuit of hegemony or trying to set up a “debt trap” for countries. It is clear that China is the primary target of perception creation studies in the Western press and academia. For example, we understand that the main target behind the Ukraine crisis is China. They are trying to establish a similarity between Ukraine and Taiwan. Again, Taiwan’s status is distorted through the media and academics. However, countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, including the USA, have accepted the “One China” principle, that is, the only legal representative of the government of the People’s Republic of China. Joint statements signed on that.
3. Finally, although the BRI is seen as an economic based project, it is actually an international project that goes beyond that. What would you like to say about the opportunities that this project, which will complete its 10th year, will create for the whole world?
It is certain that a world where the BRI is widely accepted will be a world of peace and friendship. It will be a world where countries experience common development and common prosperity. It will stand as a deterrent against countries pursuing aggression and hegemony. It will develop friendship, cooperation and neighbourly relations between the countries on its route. Regional peace projects will be implemented. In summary, China proposed to the world to get rid of serious common problems together and to form a community of common destiny of humanity, without losing their sovereignty and independence.
Kamil ERDOĞDU
Turkish journalist Kamil Erdoğdu, who lived in China for about 18 years, carried out his professional life in newspapers such as Sabah, Yeni Yüzyıl and Aydınlık and in important institutions such as BBC Turkish, Anadolu Agency, Deutsche Welle and TRT. Today, he works as the Editor-in-Chief of the Türkiye branch of CRI Turkish (China Radio International). He has a book called “Bilmediğimiz Çin (The China We Don’t Know)” published in 2021.