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7 J. Mgmt. & Sustainability 48 (2017)
The Human Security Dimension of China's Belt and Road Initiative

handle is hein.journals/jms7 and id is 353 raw text is: Journal of Management and Sustainability; Vol. 7, No. 3; 2017 ISSN1925-4725 E-ISSN 1925-4733 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education The Human Security Dimension of China's Belt and Road Initiative Rosita Dellios & R. James Ferguson' 'Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia Correspondence: Rosita Dellios, Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Gold Coast 4229, Queensland, Australia. Tel: 61-7-5595-2514. E-mail: rdellos@bond.edu.au Received: June 20, 2017 Accepted: July 10, 2017 Online Published: August 3, 2017 doi: 10.5539/jms.v7n3p48 URL: http://doi.org/10.5539/jms.v7n3p48 Abstract Despite the geopolitical calculations associated with China's Belt and Road Initiative, and how this will allow Beijing greater influence in transregional relations, the human security dimension goes to the heart of China's wider regional strategy. The importance of development cannot be understated even as the rise of China attracts the headlines. How well Beijing can engage wider human security concerns will be crucial for the success of this megaproject. It is argued that the human security aspect of China's Belt and Road Initiative requires a stronger ethical base-one which draws on China's own Confucian heritage. This allows for both cultural inclusiveness and the promotion of higher levels of trust towards Beijing's policies and intentions. Keywords: Chinese foreign policy, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), One Belt One Road (OBOR), human security, Confucian values 1. Introduction As the People's Republic of China (PRC) increases its influence and leadership through the new silk roads known as the Belt and Road Initiative, the question of human security will come under greater scrutiny. The purpose of this article is to argue that the Chinese government should emphasize human security as a key component of silk roads development, while also enhancing the concept's Western defined legitimacy with the insights of Confucian thought. Within Confucian teachings may be found a sophisticated concept of human relations based on core ideas of benevolence (ren), social customs (i), reciprocity (shu) and harmony (he). This is a challenge that looms before Beijing's regional architects of prosperity and connectivity. An investigation of human security as a central concept of this article is followed by an overview of the new silk roads, their significance in light of the historic tribute system (asymmetrical relations supporting China's primacy), and China's diverse relational models. Here the application of Confucian philosophy may be seen as the best policy for the cultural inclusiveness expressed in official articulations. 2. What is Human Security? Human security focuses on individuals, families, local communities and indigenous groups who face a wide range of threats, including natural disasters, environmental collapse, poverty, and civil war (Lizee, 2002). The UN General Assembly Resolution 66/290 on Human Security (2012), sponsored by Japan, states that the notion of human security includes: (a) The right of people to live in freedom and dignity, free from poverty and despair. All individuals, in particular vulnerable people, are entitled to freedom from fear and freedom from want, with an equal opportunity to enjoy all their rights and fully develop their human potential (b) Human security calls for people-centred, comprehensive, context-specific and prevention-oriented responses that strengthen the protection and empowerment of all people and all communities (c) Human security recognizes the interlinkages between peace, development and human rights, and equally considers civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights Human security has been a central developmental agenda within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) from 1994. Human security also forms a major part of Canadian and Norwegian foreign policy and serves as a key guiding principle in Japan's Development Cooperation Charter (developmental aid). In the case of Japan, human security was one of the four key areas guiding development cooperation from 2015, outlining priority aid corridors in East and South Africa, along with strategic master plans being developed for South and West Africa. It thereby helped implement the Yokohama Action Plan (2013-2017) with human security achieved 48

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