EU & China\’s Belt and Road Initiative

Current Research for \”Competitive\” Public Forum Debate…

TOPIC: China\’s Belt and Road Initiative

Resolved: The European Union should join the Belt and Road Initiative.
Previous Version: July 2019: China\’s Belt and Road Initiative (or BRI)

HANDOUTS & PACKETS (& Critical Thinking):
[IMPORTANT: SEND AN EMAIL ASKING FOR THE EVIDENCE PACKET!!!]

[-] PF Research – EU Join China\’s Belt and Road Initiative (Big Sky Debate, 2019-09-01).pdf (DOC)
[-] PF Research – EU Join China\’s Belt and Road Initiative (Champion Briefs, 2019-09-01).pdf
[-] PF Research – EU Join China\’s Belt and Road Initiative (Victory Briefs, 2019-09-01).pdf

BACKGROUND:

China\’s massive Belt and Road initiative builds global infrastructure — and influence
PBS Newshour, September 27, 2019 [12 min]
https://youtu.be/xl_kw3mNazY

The Belt and Road Initiative (World Bank, March 29, 2018):
China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013 to improve connectivity and cooperation on a transcontinental scale. China has presented the BRI as an open arrangement in which all countries are welcome to participate. In 2017, these economies received 35% of global foreign direct investments and accounted for 40% of global merchandise exports. For the 70 BRI “corridor economies” (excluding China), projects in all sectors that are already executed, in implementation, or planned are estimated to amount to US$575 billion. If completed, BRI transport projects could reduce travel times along economic corridors by 12%, increase trade between 2.7% and 9.7%, increase income by up to 3.4% and lift 7.6 million people from extreme poverty. The BRI presents risks common to many major infrastructure projects: debt risks, governance risks (corruption and procurement), stranded infrastructure, environmental risks, and social risks. BRI transport projects have the potential to substantially improve trade, foreign investment, and living conditions for citizens in participating countries—but only if China and other corridor economies adopt deeper policy reforms that increase transparency, expand trade, improve debt sustainability and mitigate environmental, social and corruption risks.

REQUIRED RESEARCH VIDEOS (11 mins):

[Visualizing] China’s One-Belt, One-Road initiative,
BHP Group, May 26, 2017 [1 min]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecIGHOAaXvo

China\’s trillion-dollar plan to dominate global trade,
Vox News, April 5, 2018 [6 min]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvXROXiIpvQ

China\’s Xi pledges to \’fight corruption\’ at Belt and Road summit,
Aljazeera News, April 26, 2019 [2 min]
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/china-xi-pledges-fight-corruption-belt-road-summit-190426063632664.html
NOTE: Please read the article as well, thanks.

Parag Khanna: The Malacca Trap Explained || Debate Clip,
Intelligence Squared, February 25, 2019 [1 min]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjqRJk6Ymfg
Note: He is a global strategy advisor with a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics (impressive). She is the former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Senior Fellow at Yale University (possibly even more impressive!). These two TOP experts have completely different assessments. Wow!

Susan Thornton: China\’s \”Belt & Road\” is a \’Bridge to Nowhere\’ || Debate Clip,
Intelligence Squared, February 25, 2019 [1 min]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEhXD3j45XI
Note: She is the former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Senior Fellow at Yale University (extremely impressive!).

[Optional: Silly] Kids Performing \”Belt and Road\” Song,
CGTN News, May 10, 2017 [2 min]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KFBHBMatXk

REQUIRED RESEARCH ARTICLES (4 Articles):

China tries to calm jitters about the “Belt and Road” initiative,
The Economist, April 25, 2019 [PDF]
https://www.economist.com/china/2019/04/25/china-tries-to-calm-jitters-about-the-belt-and-road-initiative

Xi Jinping Says China\’s Belt and Road Initiative Is Not Saddling Poor Countries With Debt,
TIME Magazine, April 26, 2019
https://time.com/5578514/china-xi-jinping-belt-road-corruption-debt/
NOTE: Please consider watching the 30-sec video featuring a speech from China\’s President Xi Jinping.

China\’s Xi pledges to \’fight corruption\’ at Belt and Road summit,
Aljazeera News, April 26, 2019
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/china-xi-pledges-fight-corruption-belt-road-summit-190426063632664.html
NOTE: Please watch the video as well, thanks.

[Pros & Cons] Three Opportunities and Three Risks of the Belt and Road Initiative,
World Bank, May 4, 2018
https://blogs.worldbank.org/trade/three-opportunities-and-three-risks-belt-and-road-initiative

ADDITIONAL \”OPTIONAL\” RESEARCH ARTICLES & VIDEOS:

[Coaching Video] Sept/Oct 2019 Public Forum Topic Analysis
Danny Siegel, Champion Briefs, September 7, 2019 [24 min]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieI4mQfTURQ&feature=youtu.be
IMPORTANT: This is NOT evidence — it is advice on arguments/strategy(ies).

[VIDEO] Unresolved: The Techonomic Cold War With China,
Intelligence Squared, February 25, 2019 [66 min]
https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/unresolved-techonomic-cold-war-china
Note: At around 29:30, the topic switches to the \”Belt and Road Initiative\” (BRI).
Direct Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgXmUubTIYw [27 min]

[Video] China\’s Belt and Road Initiative is \’changing the world,\’ expert says,
Henry Tillman, Chairman, and CEO of Grisons Peak, CNBC News, June 13, 2019 [3 min]
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/06/13/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-is-changing-the-world-expert-says.html
NOTE: Feel free to skip 30 sec ahead to get to the part about the BRI and corruption (our topic).

[Video] China expands global ambitions with a new phase of Xi’s signature program,
CNBC News, April 29, 2019 [2 min]
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/29/belt-and-road-china-expands-global-ambitions-with-new-program-phase.html

[Video] How Asia Fell Out of Love With China’s Belt and Road Initiative,
Bloomberg News, December 10, 2018 [5 min]
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-10/how-asia-fell-out-of-love-with-china-s-belt-and-road-initiative

[Audio] Chinese Firms Now Hold Stakes In Over A Dozen European Ports,
NPR News, October 9, 2018 [6 min]
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/09/642587456/chinese-firms-now-hold-stakes-in-over-a-dozen-european-ports
NOTE: There is also a link to \”Part-2\” and there is a link to the transcript(s) as well.

[Audio] In Laos, A Chinese-Funded Railway Sparks Hope For Growth – And Fears Of Debt,
NPR News, April 26, 2019 [4 min]
https://www.npr.org/2019/04/26/707091267/in-laos-a-chinese-funded-railway-sparks-hope-for-growth-and-fears-of-debt

[Audio] A New Chinese-Funded Railway In Kenya Sparks Debt-Trap Fears,
NPR News, April 26, 2019 [8 min]
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/08/641625157/a-new-chinese-funded-railway-in-kenya-sparks-debt-trap-fears

China’s Massive Belt and Road Initiative,
Council on Foreign Relations, Last Updated: May 21, 2019
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative

Solar Energy Could Turn the Belt and Road Initiative Green,
Yvaine Ye, Harvard University, July 12, 2019
https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2019/07/solar-energy-could-turn-belt-and-road-initiative-green

All Roads Lead to China: The Belt and Road Initiative, Explained,
PBS Frontline, June 26, 2019
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/all-roads-lead-to-china-the-belt-and-road-initiative-explained/

The deforestation risks of China’s Belt and Road Initiative,
Brookings Institution, January 28, 2019
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2019/01/28/the-deforestation-risks-of-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative/

Winners and losers along China’s Belt and Road,
Indermit Gill, Brookings Institution, June 21, 2019
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2019/06/21/winners-and-losers-along-chinas-belt-and-road/

China Determined to \’Steal Its Way\’ Up the Economic Ladder, Says FBI Director,
Newsweek, April 26, 2019
https://www.newsweek.com/china-steal-way-economic-ladder-1406892

Macron, Merkel, Urge Improved Ties With China as Belt and Road Looks More Likely Than Ever,
Newsweek, March 26, 2019
https://www.newsweek.com/macron-merkel-china-belt-and-road-1375673

China Could Build 30 \’Belt and Road\’ Nuclear Reactors by 2030: Official,
U.S. News & World Report, June 20, 2019
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-06-20/china-could-build-30-belt-and-road-nuclear-reactors-by-2030-official

Xi: China Wants to Expand Sprawling Infrastructure Project,
U.S. News & World Report, April 27, 2019
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2019-04-27/xi-china-wants-to-expand-sprawling-infrastructure-project

The Belt and Road Initiative: A Bellwether of China’s Role in Global Governance,
Center for Global Policy, Carnegie-Tsinghua, September 10, 2018
https://carnegietsinghua.org/2018/09/10/belt-and-road-initiative-bellwether-of-china-s-role-in-global-governance-pub-77204

Belt and Road Initiative,
World Bank, March 29, 2018
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/regional-integration/brief/belt-and-road-initiative
Awesome PDF: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/31878/9781464813924.pdf

CONTACT INFORMATION (Coach Bill):

Bill Eddy,
coachbill@magnetacademy.com
714.655.8135 (I prefer text)
When contacting me, please include your name and class information (day/time). Thanks!

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