'Belt and Road' not reaction to U.S. Pivot to Asia

Rather than seeking regional dominance,China's plans to build an East-West trade network across the Asian continent are pacifist in nature because of their inclusiveness and aim at mutual benefit.

Western media outlets have portrayed the proposals as a counterweight to the U.S. "Pivot to Asia" strategy of rebalancing its resources towards the Asia-Pacific. But they should note two historical episodes related to the Silk Road, the planned network's forebear. One features Zhang Qian, who spread Chinese culture when exploring the routes and brought into China products including grapes and sesame two thousand years ago.

The other concerns admiral Zheng He and his fleet's seven voyages overseas, the longest of which took him to the eastern African coast over the equator. On these expeditions, Zheng carried with him not blood and fire but porcelain, silk and tea.

As an effort to revive the ancient routes of peace and exchange that the two luminaries explored, the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" initiatives -- referred to collectively as the "Belt and Road" -- do not challenge the fronts of Washington's trademark policy, which is widely seen as an effort to ensure U.S. hegemony and security interests remain unchallenged in the region.

To achieve that goal, the United States plans to deploy 60 percent of its fleet in the Pacific, and equip the Pacific Command with the most cutting-edge capabilities by 2020, in addition to increasing its diplomatic and economic resources in the region.

Instead of seeking to establish an enlarged military presence that is likely to complicate the regional security situation, China's proposals are purely about infrastructure, trade and economic cooperation, a vision very much in the same vein as those of Zhang and Zheng.

That's why the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which was founded to finance infrastructure construction and promote regional interconnections, is popular among countries along the Silk Road routes, with the number of founding members rising to 26 since October.

In addition, China will contribute 40 billion U.S. dollars to set up the Silk Road Fund, which will be used to help projects related to connectivity for countries along the routes.

As a developing nation coping with the new normal of slower economic growth, the vision, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, is also dedicated to facilitating the economic development of China's less developed western provinces and regions, which border many Asian neighbors along the Silk Road.

More importantly, the benefits of the Belt and Road will go beyond China and its Asian neighbors. As evidenced by the Venetian merchant and traveler Marco Polo, who reached China by the route, the initiatives will boost people-to-people exchange and understanding between East and West.

At a two-day seminar that concluded on Thursday in China's eastern city of Quanzhou, a famous ancient port visited by Marco Polo, Liu Qibao, head of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee, stressed the Silk Road initiatives are bringing opportunities for common prosperity.

When considering these factors, the logic of linking the initiatives with the U.S. strategy of maintaining its influence in Asia is untenable.

Either the observers who pitched the two against each other are unwilling to see the Belt and Road initiatives go smoothly or they want to strain China-U.S. ties at a time when the two nations are aiming to build a new type of major-country relationship.