Sino-Eurasianism: Rethinking the Belt and Road Initiative

There is a substantial body of literature on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) announced by Xi Jinping in October 2013. While many scholars have explored the economic and financial dimensions of the BRI, most research has focused on its geopolitical aspects and implications for regional politics. In this context, Eurasia is the most prominent region in that it constitutes the core of the BRI. In contrast to territory-based and nationalist Eurasianism of later thinkers such as Aleksandr Dugin, and also to the early pan-nationalist vision of Nikolai Trubetzkoy, who advocated the unity of a multiethnic Eurasian civilisation, the BRI advances a development-oriented approach that generates not only economic but also political and security implications for the region. In this context, the BRI may revitalise or add another perspective to the ideology of Eurasianism and foster regional integration. This study examines the BRI's impact specifically on the Eurasian region in terms of its political economy and explores whether it may lead to the conceptualisation of a new variant of Eurasianism: Sino-Eurasianism. The first part analyses Eurasian geopolitics, with particular attention to the main arguments of Eurasianism. The second part assesses whether the BRI can serve as an economic foundation for Eurasianism and promote regional integration.

Journal

CHINA-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL

Year

2025

Volume

23

Issue

4

Pages

82-106

ISSN

0219-7472

eISSN

0219-8614

WoS UID

WOS:001629497600001