Analysis Of China's Geoeconomic Strategy Through The BRI In Sri Lanka 2013 - 2023

Abstract

China is one of the major powers in the world that has foreign economic policies on a global scale. One of them is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an inclusive development strategy that aims to strengthen cooperation in cross-regional development while expanding China's political-economic influence. Sri Lanka is one of the key countries in the implementation of BRI due to its strategic position on the Indian Ocean shipping route. This research analyzes how China's geoeconomic strategy through BRI was implemented in Sri Lanka in the 2013 - 2023 period using Blackwill and Harris' geoeconomic theory, this research focuses on China using 3 main instruments of geoeconomics, namely investment, aid, and financial policy to achieve its political goals. Through large infrastructure projects such as Colombo Port City, CICT Colombo Terminal and Hambantota Port. In addition, aid and loan assistance accompanied by currency swaps and AIIB funding further strengthened Sri Lanka's economic dependence on China. This has shown that BRI is an implementation of inclusive and sustainable economic and infrastructure growth, but also creates a complex dependency dynamic that has led to the controversial “debt trap” narrative. Meanwhile, internal factors such as weak governance and corruption also make Sri Lanka's dependence on China in economic terms. This study aims to make an empirical contribution to the understanding of contemporary geoeconomic practices, by highlighting how inclusive cooperation in the form of infrastructure development has been used as an alternative to coercive military action to create global influence, and how this strategy affects the sovereignty and stability of Sri Lanka.