Negotiating Power in the Asia-Pacific: Economic Diplomacy in China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy

This thesis aims to assess whether China and Japan’s strategies have both followed a similar economic diplomacy strategy when engaging with third countries and the corresponding projects, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy. While a specific motivation can be hard to pinpoint, the economic diplomacy tools they used are identifiable from agreements, public correspondence by officials or news articles that discuss reactions to the projects. Considering the case studies and the blueprints of the Free and Open Indo Pacific strategy and the Belt and Road Initiative, it is possible to conclude that Japan follows with the FOIP nearly the same or at least a very similar strategy to the BRI of China. The case studies do not always remain within the established movements of the BRI and FOIP in the used framework. The movements are along the axes of economic diplomacy primarily are between commercial and trade diplomacy. China in particular shows that it is...Show moreThis thesis aims to assess whether China and Japan’s strategies have both followed a similar economic diplomacy strategy when engaging with third countries and the corresponding projects, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy. While a specific motivation can be hard to pinpoint, the economic diplomacy tools they used are identifiable from agreements, public correspondence by officials or news articles that discuss reactions to the projects. Considering the case studies and the blueprints of the Free and Open Indo Pacific strategy and the Belt and Road Initiative, it is possible to conclude that Japan follows with the FOIP nearly the same or at least a very similar strategy to the BRI of China. The case studies do not always remain within the established movements of the BRI and FOIP in the used framework. The movements are along the axes of economic diplomacy primarily are between commercial and trade diplomacy. China in particular shows that it is willing to go further than Japan with using the tools of commercial diplomacy. Moreover, China is also willing to go further than Japan if they are not getting a formal participation in the BRI from another country, compared to the FOIP.Show less

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Negotiating Power in the Asia-Pacific: Economic Diplomacy in China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy