Lungani Nelson Hlongwa
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), Hsinchu, Taiwan
Abstract
China’s Belt and Road Initiative continues to attract considerable attention from scholars and observers in diverse fields. However, students of the Belt and Road Initiative (‘the Initiative’) have focused extensively on the land and sea dimensions of this grand project while only tentatively touching on its other dimensions. This article draws attention to the digital and maritime dimensions of the Initiative, which are respectively known as the Digital Silk Road Initiative and the Maritime Silk Road Initiative. Specifically, the article focuses on how artificial intelligence and big data, as promoted under the Digital Silk Road Initiative, intersect with the Maritime Silk Road Initiative to produce what the author refers to as Sea power 2.0. To contextualise this intersection, the article draws on patent data to show how artificial intelligence and big data are adopted in supply chains. The results from the patent analysis show that artificial intelligence and big data will play a crucial role in future supply chains, and hence, the Maritime Silk Road Initiative. Although the article focuses mostly on the commercial side of Sea power 2.0, it concludes by pointing out how artificial intelligence and big data could serve military objectives.
Introduction
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) (‘the Initiative’) is China’s vision of transcontinental and transoceanic economic integration through trade. This Initiative has various dimensions, most notably a land dimension known as the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and a sea dimension known as the Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI).466 Currently, there is a raging debate on what the BRI represents. Some observers see the BRI as presenting an opportunity for cooperative economic development for all countries concerned.467 Other observers view the BRI as China’s grand strategic project to become an economic468 and technological superpower.469 Despite growing scholarship on the BRI, there remains a dearth of research beyond the land and sea dimensions. This article aims to examine the digital dimension of the BRI, which is officially known as the Digital Silk Road Initiative (DSRI). Specifically, the article draws attention to how artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, which are crucial components of the DSRI, may be used in the MSRI to produce what may be referred to as Sea power 2.0.
Keywords:
artificial intelligence, big data, supply chain, sea power, Maritime Silk Road Initiative.