1. Some Practical Aspects
From Vision to Action:
Some Practical Aspects of
One Belt One Road
Projects in Asia
Plamen Tonchev

2. The Rationale Behind This Discourse
1. The implementation of this megaproject is in its early days - a host of questions still lingering on
2. Most noteworthy developments are still taking place in Asia, China's natural testbed for OBOR pilot projects
3. Expedient to look at how such a large-scale endeavour is to be handled and what the appropriate implementation modalities may be
4. Some very useful lessons to be drawn from a European perspective

3. Policy Framework
1. Vision and Actions on Jointly Building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (OBOR Vision and Actions) - March 2015
2. Key policy-makers:
- NDRC
- State Council
- Ministries, etc.

4. in OBOR Implementation
Actors Involved
in OBOR Implementation
- Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
- BRICS New Development Bank
- Silk Road Infrastructure Fund
- Collaboration with other int'l financial institutions
- National and provincial authorities
- State-controlled and private lenders
- State-owned enterprises
- Private businesses
- Research institutions
- etc.

5. Operational and Contractual Set-Up
1. Multilateral vs Bilateral/Trilateral Arrangements
2. Role of China's provinces:
- “in advancing the initiative, China will fully leverage the advantages of its various regions” (OBOR Vision and Actions)
The examples of Xinjiang, Shandong, Shaanxi, etc.
3. Flagship projects:
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)
China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor
4. Contractual arrangements:
Primarily Chinese large state-owned enterprises
A degree of flexibility?

6. Challenges Ahead (1) 1. Regional repercussions
- India's concerns - OBOR as a “national Chinese initiative”, CPEC, etc.
- Tension in Southeast Asia – Vietnam, the Philippines, etc.
2. Domestic politics, e.g.:
- Thailand
- Cambodia

7. Challenges Ahead (2) 3. Clarity needed as to China's goals?
- Lack of clarity still around how it is that foreigners can engage with China in OBOR as a megaproject
- Discussions on sensitive security questions between China and other OBOR partners - hard to avoid
- A demanding learning curve for Chinese businesses involved in OBOR project implementation
4. Demand for new skills and expertise
- At present, insufficient understanding of society, culture and business environment in countries along OBOR routes
- Current OBOR think-tank boom in China

8. Challenges Ahead (3) 5. Transparency and accountability aspects
6. Labour and environmental protection standards to be kept in mind?
- Job creation and work safety standards
- Environmental impact assessments, RoHS, etc.
7. A monitoring mechanism needed?
- Are robust, credible and, above all, uniform OBOR monitoring procedures feasible?
8. OBOR impact assessment - a mission impossible?

9. Conclusions
1. So far, OBOR has been clearly China-driven, which it is highly likely to remain. Buy-in by other countries varies considerably.
2. Most projects to date - on a bilateral (trilateral) basis. Multilateralism yet to take off, but that will be the real game changer.
3. Mutual understanding and trust-building – arguably, the biggest challenge ahead.
4. Ultimately, the success of OBOR will depend on the benefits that it produces not only for China, but in equal measure for the recipient nations

10. THANK YOU!