This edited volume brings together a wide range of academics to engage with inter-disciplinary research perspectives in response to the development of The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which opens unparalleled opportunities to gain access to new markets in Asia, Europe and Africa. The collection examines opportunities offered in key areas such as trade and investment, policy coordination, facilities connectivity and cultural exchange. It also notably considers how the historical, environmental, cultural and political background to the BRI impacts this hugely ambitious plan which has been described as the 'new Silk Road', as well as the challenges across these spheres in a part of the world which has witnessed much instability historically.

Chapter "Between Adoption and Resistance. China's Efforts of 'Understanding the West,' the Challenges of Transforming Monarchical Legitimacy, and the Rise of Oriental Exceptionalism, 1860-1910" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Autorentext

Hing Kai Chan is Professor of Operations Management, Nottingham University Business School China, University of Nottingham Ningbo China. 

Faith Ka Shun Chan is an Associate Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Ningbo China.
David O'Brien is a Lecturer in the East Asian Politics Section of the Faculty of East Asian Studies, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.

Inhalt

Recent Trends on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Research.- The Economics of the Belt and Road Initiative.- New research direction of the joint sea-and-land transportation of the Ningbo Port under the Belt and Road Initiative.- International Market Integration in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative.- Innovative Talent Development in Chinese Universities under the Belt and Road Initiative.- Opportunities and Risks along the New Silk Road: Perspectives and Perceptions on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.- Players or Spectators? Central Asia's Role in BRI.- China's Belt and Road Initiative and the South China Sea Disputes: Toward a New Mutual Deterrence Equilibrium.- The Making of the Finnish Polar Silk Road: Status in Spring 2019.- Between Adoption and Resistance: China's Efforts of 'Understanding the West', the Challenges of Transforming Monarchical Legitimacy and the Rise of Oriental Exceptionalism, 1860 to 1910.- Port City on the Maritime Silk Road: Ningbo's City Branding under the Theme of Intellectuals.- Desertification and its prevention along the route of China's Belt and Road Initiative.- International flows in the Belt and Road Initiative: The Future.