Can a mouse lift an elephant? explanation of chinese investment in Malaysia’s East Coast railway construction

• Main Authors: Lee, Chun-Yi, Lee, Pei May, Lau, Zhe Wei
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English; English; English; English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: JQ Political institutions Asia; JZ International relations
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/89357/1/Research%20seminar-Singapore-Feb%2019%202021.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/89357/2/EAI%20online%20conference%20presentation.pptx.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/89357/3/watch_v%3DKY8AbqTAJMY; http://irep.iium.edu.my/89357/14/89357_Can%20a%20mouse%20lift%20an%20elephant%20explanation%20of%20chinese%20investment%20in%20Malaysia%E2%80%99s%20East%20Coast%20railway%20construction.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/89357/

This project aims to explain the following two puzzles: firstly, can the Chinese infrastructure diplomacy be seen as innovative diplomacy other than existing economic diplomacy? Secondly, who are the main actors to negotiate and renegotiate the ECRL? In order to answer this part of the puzzle, we will engage with Actor-Network Theory (ANT) with the existing state capitalism network. Using ANT framework, it provides us with a thorough understanding of how the events unfolded through the dynamic interactions of the various actors, notably on the inking of the ECRL deal under Datuk Seri Najib’s administration, and the renegotiation of the deal by the new administration headed by Tun Mahathir. The contribution of our paper is not only to answer whether the Malaysia case can be seen as positive leverage to China’s infrastructure diplomacy but more so, to identify which actor assumed what role in the negotiation process of ECRL. In the existing literature, the scholarship only indicated the fragmented state capitalism in China, but hasn’t yet identified actors from both China and recipient countries and the actors’ functions in the negotiation. To clearly identify and articulate this dynamic network analysis, using ECRL as a case, is our main contribution to the field of the existing scholarship.