Israel should join the One Belt One Road initative

This article was published in Hebrew on 29.1.2020 on TheMarker, the main Israeli Business and Economic Paper

Intro – Dvir Aviam-Ezra is a legal consultant, researcher and a publicist from Tel Aviv, holding LLB and LLM degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, previously studied law in Shanghai Jiao Tong university and Belt and Road studies in Shandong University (Jinan).

On December 2019, 70 young professionals from around 40 different countries convened in Sozhou, Jiangsu Province, China for the third Young Belt and Road Forum. As the Israeli participant I was sitting between the Malaysian and Pakistani delegates, two countries with which Israel currently has no open diplomatic channels. Together, we have discussed proposals and plans aimed at the promotion of the BRI initiative, facilitating economic development, international cooperation and trade.

In order to understand what brought so many of us to the forum, we must understand what is the BRI. The initiative, launched by China in 2013, has already accumulated significant press attention. It is a group of separate plans meant to promote bilateral ties between the Eurasian countries, remove obstacles for free trade and allow investment into the lacking infrastructure of developing countries. The initiative is mostly based on Chinese capital, with 4-8 trillion dollars committed and 126 countries taking part. In parallel to the economic programs an academic and social infrastructure is rapidly being built in order to support it; several academic institutions teach programs revolving around the BRI, different meetings and conferences routinely take place around the world and two international courts were established in order to resolve disputes arising from it.

And where is Israel and all of this? Well, Israel has so far chosen not to formally join the BRI and not to engage in a governmental discussion regarding it. I believe that the advantages in our participation are greater than the possible risks, and that we should utilize this opportunity.

First and foremost, the BRI could facilitate a large flow of capital towards Israeli companies, startups and infrastructure, allowing shared investments between Israeli and Chinese companies. Moreover, using the Israeli technological knowledge and patents in cooperation with Chinese knowledge could bring efficient work methods and vast production capabilities.

From a political standpoint, Israel should, in my opinion, try to adopt a more objective and balanced position while leaving the American '"sphere of influence" that at times prevented us from engaging in independent diplomacy with China and the BRI countries. This is important as the US is currently facing a deep social crisis and President Trump is not as committed as his predecessors to principles of free trade and global cooperation. In the current state of affairs, as the world moves from a unipolar global system with the US and its allies retaining an almost hegemonic position, to a multipolar system, Israel has a lot to benefit from engaging with China and the non-aligned countries.

The third argument is that the BRI possesses the potential to promote dialogue and lower hostilities between Israel and its neighbors, as evident by our historical experience:

In the 20th century, Israel has struggled to achieve peace with its neighbors, wars and armed excursions occurred frequently and the economy of both sides was in dire straits. However, as the jordanian and Egyptian economies opened to the world new economic opportunities pushed both sides to the negotiation table. Today, the fragile peace agreements with those countries are often relying on open commerce and free trade, as well as infrastructure deals, especially in the gas sector.

The natural conclusion is that if the BRI will be successful in facilitating further economic initiatives in developing countries, opening new business opportunities for Israeli investors and startups in this countries, the incentive for dialogue and cooperation will grow. This process could bring about a form of 'economic peace' in which the MENA region could become more peaceful as a result of win-win diplomacy and economic cooperation.

As many critics have pointed out as part of the public discourse surrounding the BRI in recent months, there are also risks that ought to be considered.

One of those risks is unviable infrastructure projects that could plunge our country into debt, giving rise to suspicions that some BRI projects are a 'debt trap'. To that I would answer that the BRI is based on the market forces’ functioning and I am confident that projects' viability would be checked and approved by the relevant authorities. Additionally, BRI initiatives are often run by private entities, rendering the economic risk for the wider public negligible.

Another widely disseminated claim is that joining the BRI would be seen as an endorsement of the political and human rights policies of China and other BRI member states. In my opinion, while criticism of possible human rights violation is welcome and, indeed, necessary in international Human Rights Forum such as the UNHRC and the Universal Periodic HR review by the United Nations, cooperation on trade and economic issues should not stop because of political and ideological differences. I also believe that such cooperation has the potential to 'bridge the gap' and promote more understanding between opposing countries. The solution for disagreement is never to erect walls but rather to openly and frankly discuss the issues at hand, something the BRI helps facilitate.

In conclusion, the BRI poses major advantages and potential for economic development and global prosperity. The decision makers in Israel should seriously consider joining the BRI and recognise its advantages for us, while keeping in mind our diplomatic and geographical position. Additionally, because it is a multilateral initiative, the input of experts, students and youth matters. Thus, the involvement of Israeli academics, businesspeople and experts in the BRI's development and future courses is important and influential. We, for example, could contribute from out technological experience on environmental preservation arid and desert areas (which hae made Israel the only country in the world where the amount of trees actually went up in the last 100 years., We could also share our water conversion technologies (which have made us independent from rain and weather for drinking and agricultural water). Nevertheless, perhaps most important is the actual participation in this important international forum, and the potential integration of our young country into new, non-western international structures and communities.