A Study On The Negative Perception Of The “Belt And Road” Initiative By American Think Tanks And Its Impac

Since China put forward the “Belt and Road” initiative in 2013,it has drawn great attention from the international community.As the hegemon of the world and the dominant player of the international order,the United States has a great influence on international affairs and is also an important external factor affecting the construction of “Belt and Road”.The American think tanks play a unique role in American politics.It can not only influence the policy formulation of the U.S government,but also influence the U.S public opinions and international public opinions.American think tanks attach great importance to “Belt and Road” and have released a large number of researches.American think tank scholars have been invited to Congress to give testimony frequently.The views of American think tanks are an important source of information about “Belt and Road” in American policies community and media.For a long time,there have been doubts and worries about “Belt and Road” in the American think tank circle.It is of great academic value and practical significance to study the negative cognition of American think tanks on “Belt and Road” and to analyze its cognitive reasons and effects for the steady and long-term development of “Belt and Road”.This paper takes the negative cognition of American think tanks on “Belt and Road” as the research object,aiming to explore the following questions:What are the negative cognition of American think tanks on “Belt and Road”? Why they hold such opinions? What will be the impact of these negative perceptions? How should China respond?The paper finds that American think tanks misread and doubt the intention and influence of “Belt and Road”.They think that “Belt and Road” has multiple strategic goals: The need of China’s domestic economic development,the tool to expand China’s international influence and the strategic layout to compete with the United States and challenge its hegemony.American think tanks view “Belt and Road” from the strategic perspective,and believe that this initiative will challenge the interests of the United States in these aspects: challenging the international order dominated by the United States,exporting the China model,dominating the international rulemaking,challenging the hegemony of the U.S dollar,influencing the alliance system of the United States,and expanding military influence.American think tanks also accuse and smear “Belt and Road” with “debt problem,quality problem,environment problem and labor problem.The American think tanks view “Belt and Road” with negative views has many reasons.The first is the cognitive factor.The traditional western geopolitical strategic theories have profound influence on the strategic community in the United States.When American think tank scholars view “Belt and Road”,they are easily influenced by this thinking,and regards it as China’s geopolitical strategy.The researches of American think tanks are often forward-looking.One of the characteristics of American foreign policy is to constantly look for enemies and adversaries.After the Cold War,the argument of “China threat theory” has always existed in the United States.The second is the realistic benefit factor.The starting point of American think tanks’ research is to safeguard the national interests of the United States.American think tanks believe that “Belt and Road” challenges U.S global strategic interests in following aspects: Eurasia is an important sphere of influence for the United States,“Belt and Road” extends to Latin America and affects the backyard of the United States,the construction of “Belt and Road” in Africa affects United States’ interests.Maintaining hegemony is the fundamental interest of the United States.With the collective rise of developing countries and the relative decline of United States,hegemony anxiety appears in the United States.In this case,American think tanks believe that “Belt and Road” is challenging the foundation of American hegemony.Thirdly,the US strategy towards China and China-US relations have a direct impact on the perception of American think tanks.US government dignitaries often make speeches at major think tanks to lay out their foreign policy ideas.The researches of American think tank scholars serve the grand strategy of the United States,and their views will only be adopted by the American government if they are in line with the national interests of the United States.American think tanks have huge influence.This paper analyzes the influence of American think tanks’ negative perception of “Belt and Road”.First,it influences public opinions.The negative perception of American think tanks has influenced American media and American official discourse.“Debt Trap” has the biggest impact on the international public opinion of “Belt and Road”,this word was originated from the American think tank and was later widely quoted by the US media and political leaders to criticize and smear “Belt and Road”.“Debt Trap” also spread to the countries along “Belt and Road” and international community,which had a negative impact on the construction of “Belt and Road” to a certain extent.Second,there are policy implications.American think tank scholars have participated in many congressional hearings in the United States and put forward detailed policy suggestions on hedging “Belt and Road”.Some recommendations have been embodied in the U.S.government’s efforts to compete and balance “Belt and Road”in the Indo-Pacific region.Based on the above research,this paper proposes China’s coping strategies.First,we need to do a good job in explaining “Belt and Road” in theory,which can increase trust and dispel doubts.Second,strengthening communication and exchanges between the think tanks and academic circles of the two countries.Third,promoting high-quality development of “Belt and Road”.