The BRICS’ contribution to the development of alternative models of transnational economic cooperation. A cross-cutting analysis from the perspective of the New Development Bank

Abstract

Il contributo dei BRICS allo sviluppo di modelli alternativi di cooperazione economica transnazionale. Un'analisi trasversale dal punto di vista della Nuova Banca di Sviluppo - The paper assesses connections and potential clashes between the BRICS-sponsored frameworks for transnational development cooperation - namely, the New Development Bank - and national strategies aimed at fostering cooperation, taking the Chinese Belt & Road Initiative as an example. In the first place, the paper provides a sketch of the legal framework surrounding the NDB, also in the light of the principles and trends of international economic law; in the second place, it analyzes some traits of the Chinese model of transnational cooperation as embodied by the BRI; in the third place, it formulates some hypotheses concerning potential convergences and conflicts between the two levels of transnational cooperation, also from the perspective of the circulation of legal models among the countries affected by the activities of the NDB. 

Keywords: BRICS; New development bank; Belt and road initiative; Transnational cooperation strategies; Diffusion of Chinese legal models