A Comparative Study Of The "Belt And Road Initiative" And The "New Silk Road Initiative"

“Silk Road” is the earliest and the most important route for the communication between the East and the West.The New Silk Road Initiative(NSRI)and the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)have been important initiatives related to the “Silk Road” in recent years.The former one was proposed by former U.S.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she delivered a speech at the Second U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue in India.And the latter one was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visits to Central and Southeast Asia in September and October 2013.Since proposal,the BRI has attracted the world's attention,while the NSRI seems no longer relevant to regional process.With Afghanistan at its core,the NSRI seeks to realize the prosperity and stability of Central Asia and South Asia.But behind that purpose lies in the geopolitical and geoeconomic concerns of the U.S.The U.S.aims to exclude China and Russia from participating in this initiative,enhance its influence in Central Asia and South Asia,and make the NSRI serve the interests of the U.S.While the BRI aims to enhance economic cooperation among countries concerned under the principles of joint consultation,joint construction,and shared benefits so as to create a community of shared interests,shared future and shared responsibilities.The unique geographical location and abundant energy resources make the important hub of the ancient Silk Road Afghanistan play an important role under the NSRI and the BRI.From the perspectives of geopolitics,geoeconomics and a community of shared future,the thesis makes a comparison between the NSRI and the BRI in terms of the intentions,principles and rules as well as the implementation and takes the cooperation and developments in Afghanistan as a case to analyze the failures of the NSRI and the prospect of the BRI.By such comparison,the research aims to develop a better understanding of the BRI as a new model of international cooperation and global governance which injects new positive energy into world peace and development.