European Elites' Opinons on the Belt and Road.doc

Abstract: This article elaborates a questionnaire survey of European elites on their opinions towards the “Belt and Road” Initiative which is the first thematic and authoritative research on the China-EU cooperation under the “Belt and Road” Initiative both domestically and internationally. The questionnaire survey was conducted from June 2015 till September 2015. The main target groups of the survey are policy makers, think tanks, entrepreneurs and media reporters from 25 European countries including major EU member states and candidate states. The key conclusions are as follows: Firstly, the European elites have a relatively accurate understanding and positioning of the basic spirit of the “Belt and Road” Initiative and basically acknowledge the positive significance of the Initiative for trade cooperation and the connectivity between the two sides; Secondly, despite that the European elites have a basic understanding of the the “Belt and Road” Initiative, they seem to be unclear about its deep-seated purpose and specific contents. As a result, they hope China to give more interpretations; Thirdly, the European elites attach great importance to the establishment of specific mechanisms in promoting the “Belt and Road” Initiative. They consider reasonable mechanisms as the basic guarantee of the Initiative; Fourthly, the European elites consider that people-to-people bond is of much importance, which provides public support for implementing the “Belt and Road” Initiative; Fifthly, the European elites also attach great importance to the China-EU cooperation with the third parties under the “Belt and Road” Initiative, mainly with Russia and the US; Sixth, the elites are not familiar with the integration of the “Belt and Road” Initiative with the Juncker Investment Plan and are pessimistic about it; Last but not least, the elites recognize the importance of people-to-people exchanges and they do not view the ideological differences as the main obstacle to the bilateral exchanges; instead, they consider differences in culture and thinking patterns as more significant but not decisive factors.

Keywords: the “Belt and Road” Initiative; the European Union; Questionnaire Survey among CEECs