Research on the Cooperation Pattern of “the Belt and Road” Initiative—Based on Text Analysis of the Cooperation Documents

“The Belt and Road” Initiative is an important practice for developing countries to explore and establish a new international political and economic order. For China, it is an important practice to explore and establish a new external circulation system outside the Sino-U.S. circulation model. Promoting the high-quality development of “the Belt and Road” Initiative is of great significance to both the countries along the route and China. This paper sorts out the cooperation documents on “the Belt and Road” Initiative issued by China and 65 countries along the route published on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Belt and Road Portal from January 2014 to December 2020. It is found that there are significant differences in the text of the cooperation documents. These differences are mainly reflected in the signing time, quantity, effectiveness of the cooperation documents and willingness to cooperate. This paper further develops a cross analysis among the signing background, the leaders’ level of both sides, the effectiveness of the cooperation documents and the willingness to cooperate. “The Belt and Road” Initiative emphasizes equality, diversity, and sharing, and does not seek to impose a unified rule on each member country. When the marginal benefits of generalized theories and policies at this stage continue to decline, this kind of exploration is particularly important. It is of great reference significance to build a new type of international relations in the era of globalzation.