Comparing China's "Belt and Road" initiative with Marshall Plan absurd: scholars

"China's 'Belt and Road'" initiatives cannot be compared to the Marshall Plan during the Cold War. The "Belt and Road'initiatives concern the interests of all parties like a symphony performed by all rather than China's solo show", Wang Yi, Chinese foreign minister said in the NPC brief conference recently.

Wang's comment was echoed by many experts at home and abroad.

"Certain foreign media outlets regarded the 'Belt and Road' initiative as China's version of the Marshall Plan, but actually, comparing the initiatives with the Marshall Plan, is a perversion, if not insensate," Qian Feng, Vice President of Asia News Time of Thailand emphasized.

The greatest difference between the two plans lies in policy purposes.

In Qian's opinion, the Marshall Plan, officially the European Recovery Program, was the American initiative to offer economic support to rebuild war-devastated European countries, while preventing them from pursuing communist regime and following the then Soviet Union.

In contrast, the "Belt and Road" initiatives' emphasis was placed on stronger and closer economic cooperation, on joint infrastructure projects, the enhancement of security cooperation, and environment technical and scientific cooperation.

The other difference is the objectives of these two initiatives.

While the Marshall Plan covered only Western nations and excluded all countries and regions the West thought were ideologically close to the Soviet Union, Chinese initiatives are open to all the economies along the land and sea Silk Roads, irrespective of their ideological and societal leanings, said Gao Cheng, senior researcher of the National Institute of International Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Science.

The "Belt and Road" initiatives promised to accelerate the development of landlocked countries and the remote areas. The Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution proposed by China, to promote regional interconnectivity to those countries which are in the region of " Belt and Road" passing through.

Most countries who joined in the AIIB are developing countries, such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan and so on.

Lastly, these two different strategies would play different roles at different times in the world.

The trade relations fostered by the Marshall Plan helped forge the North Atlantic alliance, the military alliance that has been persisting throughout the Cold War. The ultimate beneficiary of the Marshall Plan, therefore, was the United States.

In comparison, the "Belt One Road" initiative is mutually beneficial, which will ensure peace and prosperity for China itself, China's neighboring countries, as well as the world.

Huang Bin, senior researcher of Thailand Karikorn Bank, noticed that Chinese top officials said that, China will bring advanced technology and service to Thailand and upgrade Thai railway, as well as help other ASEAN countries to establish other infrastructure, enhance their competence and improve welfare and living standards of their local people.

Huang's view echoed what National People's Congress spokeswoman Fu Ying said at a press briefing in China's two session that, China's "Belt and Road" strategy is an attempt to build a new framework for regional development.

China's peaceful rise is not taking advantage of any other country. The "Belt and Road" initiative is advocating not only the community of interest, but also the community of destiny and community of responsibility, Huang added. Endi