[VIDEO] One Belt, One Road Explained Using Child Propaganda
To most local residents, next week's Belt and Road Summit means the inconvenience and hassle associated with the various international events hosted by Beijing over the years. But do you actually know what the "Belt and Road" actually means?
An oversimplification would be to say the Belt and Road is an Asian-European-African continental trade agreement based upon interconnected transportation infrastructure, something very significant because a) it is a direct reference to the "Silk Road" and a time when China was a world power; b) China is the chief architect; and c) the USA is not a key player.
By these points alone, it's easy to see that the world leaders convening at this summit will have serious decisions to make that will have a lasting impact the world over. But as complex and important an issue as this is, how do you inform the public on what the Belt and Road actually is?
The answer to that is to release a number of short online videos that, if they don't inform, will promote the Belt and Road initiative.
Hello, Belt and Road: The Trailer
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=p0399i41kxj&width=500&height=375&auto=0
A bombastic blend of multi-cultural images and patriotic music, it's hard to determine the message of this video. Viewers won't learn anything new about the Belt and Road from watching it, but they will get hyped up in this "teaser" trailer:
(Narrator speaking)
A long road
People traded goods and knew more about each other
Thoughts gathered; wisdom shared
Courage demonstrated; communication deepened
Interconnectivity is the theme of the future
This May
Hello, The Belt and Road
The "Maritime" Silk Road: The Trailer
This "teaser trailer" (bilibili.com/video/av10431550) makes up for its lack of voiceover by using computer graphics to illustrate a magically-twisted blue ribbon that starts first in China and stretches outwards across the globe, an idea echoed by other videos.
Still not hyped up enough for the Belt and Road? Rhythmically bang your head along in agreement with ...
The Belt and Road: The Rock Music Video
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=s03986s5cmv&width=500&height=375&auto=0
A Laos rock group called Cells made this video promoting the Belt and Road initiative using Thai, English, and Mandarin lyrics. Although this video also features panoramic cityscapes and people being happy and harmonious, this time the images are accompanied by distorted guitars:
Chairman Xi Jinping, with far-reaching sight
Silk road, you and I stand shoulder to shoulder
Belt and Road, there's you and me
No matter the problem, big or small, we can face it together
Together we walk and survey the land
Is rock "too heavy" for your tastes? Try the ballad version of the "Belt and Road" song as sung by Zhang Ke.
At this point, none of these videos have offered any specific details to explain what the Belt and Road actually is. To serve that end, you may want to watch something more traditional ... or you could turn to the hot new trend of informing the public: videos targeted at a children's audience.
The Belt & Road Initiative & Globalization: A Bedtime Story
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=g0500brxchi&width=500&height=375&auto=0
This video by China Daily re-imagines the Belt and Road initiative as a bedtime story.
A man, identied as Erik Nilsson, is seen putting his daughter Liliana to bed by telling her about the Belt and Road, dropping Chinese Xi Jinping's name in the process.
Liliana is heard understanding the Belt and Road is "like countries sharing," summarizing it as "It's just about moving things around."
In a second video (bilibili.com/video/av10449897), Erik is heard criticizing the USA for not having joined the initiative. “It’s China’s idea,” Erik says, “but it belongs to the world.”
The elder Nilsson, identified by the New York Times as a China Daily assistant director, also compares the bedtime story he tells his daughter to the Belt and Road summit. "This forum is a chance to tell the world about the Belt and Road like I'm telling you," Erik says.
But not all children like to hear bedtime stories, which why there's also ...
The Belt and Road: The Animated Kung Fu Cartoon
This video (bilibili.com/video/av10432269) made by CCTV associates China's foreign policy with the mystical properties of Chinese kung fu commonly seen in genre movies and video games, thereby creating a strange blend of diplomacy and fantasy.
At the same time as the animated video discusses transportation infrastructure, kung-fu practitioners are shown flying alongside high-speed trains. At one point, a man flies into the sky and roundhouse kicks a giant palm-shaped cloud into two halves.
But the high-fantasy of the kung-fu isn't all that removed from the Silk Road, which CCTV describes as a "mythical" road that must continue to be developed "under the guidance of China."
Is fantasy kung fu too genre-specific for you? A family-orientated compromise can be found in ...
The Belt and Road: The Sing-Along Song
There's no better way to follow along the complexities of the Belt and Road intitiative than by singing along as seen in this video (weibo.com/tv/v/F2qOxxLbb) made by Revival Road Workshop.
Knowing full well that they are the future, the multi-ethnic children in this video tell us why the Belt and Road is so important (sung in English):
The belt connects the land
the road is on the sea
the promise that they hold
is lasting prosperity
We're breaking barriers
we're making history
the world we're dreaming of
starts with you and me
The future is coming now
The belt and road is how
We will share the goodness now
The belt and road is how
If at this point you find yourself not yet on board with the Belt and Road initiative, maybe some of your peers can convince you ...
Foreign Support for China's Belt and Road
The People's Daily is responsible for this video (miaopai.com/show/pjU942N4ZpH7Mq2gwqsckl3VJYQxupYm.htm) in which young expats from over 20 countries profess their love of Chinese culture, each revealing which of China's modern innovations they would like to spread throughout the world in the same way as China seeks to promote its Belt and Road initiative.
Peter from Romania lists China's "New Four Great Inventions" as its 4G network, high-speed rail, online payment and bike-sharing.
"I have to say that these new things completely changed my life. I am willing to accept the cooperation and cultural exchanges like 'The Belt and Road.' It links the two worlds together," said Peter.
Meanwhile, Bond from Thailand thinks online payment is a Chinese innovation he hopes he could take back to Thailand.
"As long as you can use Alipay, you will not be afraid of losing money. I wish I could invest in Taobao, and take it back to the motherland," said Bond.
Meanwhile, people from as far as Kenya and Kazakhastan are also bandwagoning on the Belt and Road:
Expats hyping up the Belt and Road summit have made it to the news as well.
One lump or two
We hope by this point that you should be familiar with the Belt and Road. But, on the chance that you still don't know what to think of it, there's one final way of summarizing the Belt and Road in one easy image as seen throughout all of these videos: camels.
And on that note, we better remind you that the initiative is definitely no fun at all, especially if you live in Beijing, and you'd probably do best to stay at home and watch some real entertainment until the whole thing has passed.
Images: Bilibili
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