Macro-Finance Salon (No. 70): A Reexamination of the Heartland
2017-10-11 IMI
Professor Zhang took “Three Lines and Three Belts” in China as a lead to the Heartland Theory proposed by Halford MacKinder in “The Geographical Pivot of History”. The Heartland lies in the center of the Central Asian continent, where the Chinese civilization, Indian civilization, Greek civilization and Islamic civilization co-exist. It is such a unique area of strategic importance. From a historical perspective, the Heartland is extremely significant evidenced by the facts that the Hexi Corridor is the only route for Confucianism to communicate with others; Guan Long area is place where talents sought refuge and classical records were preserved during wartime; Xinjiang and Tibet have never been excluded out of the political map of the Central Plains for a long time after Liangzhou Alliance initiated by Prince Kuoduan of the Mongol Empire; Xinjiang was governed by the court in the late Qing dynasty, though turbulent an era when the Heartland was still not too far away.
The Eurasian continent has been torn apart to distortion by religious conflicts and wars. According to Professor Zhang, the Heartland is directly relevant to the rise of the continent. The United States, for its own interests, maneuvers to mess up the Heartland, in order to curb the alliance across the Eurasian continent. Washington has been interfering with affairs in Eastern Europe and manipulating Japan, South Korea and other countries in Eastern Asia, in an attempt to cut off the alliance’s geographical access. On the contrary, China proposes the Belt and Road Initiative to restore the Heartland and promote the integration of Europe and Asia. Since the 1950s, the global economic center has rapidly moved eastwards. The development of information technology and transportation has facilitated the long-distance transport and trade links between Europe and Asia, hence a rising tendency of Europe to be less dependent on the United States. In this regard, China actively responded with the establishment of Silk Road Fund and Eurasian trust mechanism, the increasing service lines of China Railway Express, and the efforts to create new international orders, so as to boost Eurasian economic integration.
During the meeting, the participants shared their views and had in-depth discussions on historical, political, and cultural conflicts issues concerning the Heartland. These opinions were well exchanged and echoed among the guests present. This meeting stepped beyond the research circle in economic and financial fields, and adopted the geographical and historical perspectives to look into national strategies and have an overview of international situations. It was informative, intriguing and impressive.
