China’s Development and “One Belt One Road Initiative” as a Chance for Serbia to Improve its Position of Political and Economical Neutrality

Cvetićanin, Neven (2018) China’s Development and “One Belt One Road Initiative” as a Chance for Serbia to Improve its Position of Political and Economical Neutrality. Working Paper. China - CEE Institute, Budapest.

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Abstract

In the multipolar world of the 21st century Serbia has a chance to improve its position of political and economical neutrality, escaping from being involved in every big (and for Serbia unnecessary) international political crisis – and stay open for good relations with all main great powers of our time. Small countries like Serbia do not have the luxury to participate in major world crises and to declare some rigid, radical, attitude on main strategic groupings in the world, and it is best for them, if possible, to remain neutral. Even the European Union and Europe as a continent can be in the new multipolar world of 21st century “Big Switzerland” – a territory for the meeting of great powers of our time – primarily the China, U.S.A. and Russia as political and geostrategic giants in relation to the European Union, which, however, has great moral credibility as the birthplace of classical diplomatic systems, such as the Westphalian one. Europe could back to "neutral" geostrategic politics of great French president Charles De Gaulle which imply good relations with all main world powers, it means with China as well, whose development can be useful for Europe as continent and especially for its infrastructure. In this sense China’s development in general and in particular especially initiatives such as the Chinese initiative for the “New Silk Road” (One Belt One Road Initiative) could be useful not only for China, but as well for Europe and especially for Serbia and for balancing world politics as such. This new (silk) road between two continents could be an introduction in the multipolar world of 21st century in which continents and great powers need to communicate and balance in every sense – economically, politically and diplomatically. In this case we would live in a balanced multipolar world of 21st century just as was the case in the old traditional Westphalian international system of sovereign states. Otherwise, we could live in a hell of mutual conflict between great powers that could turn the whole 21st century into a postmodern global hell, which is neither in the interest of the great powers (because a mess in international relations can not be in the interest of great powers) or finally in the interest of humanity as a whole. In the paper we will research on two topics - first; China’s development and “One Belt One Road Initiative” as a chance for Serbia to improve its position of political and economical neutrality and second; position of Europe in new global circumstances which put our continent in position of balance between three great powers of our time – the China, U.S.A and Russia.

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