THE ASIAN TIGERS’ DEGREE OF PARTICIPATION IN THE NEW SILK ROADS INITIATED BY CHINA

The primary objective of this paper is to synthesize the positions of nine key actors relevant to the world economy, specifically the Asian Tigers, regarding China and its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The literature review and official positions underscore that the first four Asian Tigers, Hong Kong-China, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan, together with five countries considered the Asian Tigers of the second generation, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam, have different positions and interests in relation to China alongside the New Silk Roads. They also offer various levels of attractiveness for China from the perspective of cooperation opportunities in the framework of the BRI. Hong Kong, as a Special Administrative Region of China, is described in the literature as a “key driver and value creator in advancing the BRI”. In its turn, Singapore, a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has emerged as one of China’s most consistent and reliable partners. The engagement of the other five ASEAN members with China is unevenly distributed. Striking the right balance between benefits and costs is a key objective of these countries. At the same time, they have as priorities both the alliance with the United States and economic ties with China. Among the nine Asian Tigers, Taiwan is the only one that does not participate in China's BRI. It aims to counter China’s influence in the region and reduce its economic dependency on China. It has launched various policies, including the New Southbound Policy, to develop strong relationships with both China’s partners, but especially with critics of China, such as the Philippines and India. As regards South Korea, in the literature are revealed “repeated setbacks in the BRI cooperation between South Korea and China”, as well as South Korea’s inclination towards “avoiding as much as possible too much involvement”.