As the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) celebrates its 10th anniversary, the world faces a stark choice: cooperation or conflict? Pakistan Senate Defence Committee Chairman Mushahid Hussain calls it the \"most important diplomatic and developmental initiative\" of the 21st century – reviving Silk Road connections through trade, culture, and #BridgeNotBarriers diplomacy.
The contrast? While China brokers peace deals like the Iran-Saudi détente and champions President Xi's Global Civilization Initiative (\"dialogue over clash\"), the West doubles down on military alliances like NATO's Asia pivot and AUKUS. Hussain notes: \"2023 also marks 20 years since the Iraq War – a unilateral, illegal conflict that destabilized nations.\"
Two paths emerge:
BRI's Playbook: 150+ partner countries, $1T+ investments, and mega-projects like CPEC.
Western Strategy: Quad alliances, tech bans, and \"de-risking\" rhetoric critics call Cold War 2.0.
Hussain argues: \"The Global South wants development without overlords.\" With BRI creating 420K jobs overseas and China mediating historic peace deals, the battle isn’t just about infrastructure – it’s which vision unites a post-pandemic world.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com