“一带一路”汉班托塔港项目的舆论生态及其影响因素分析

The BRI Project of the Hambantota Port,Sri Lanka:Public Opinion Environment and Its Influencing Factors

作为连接东西方的航运和商贸中心,斯里兰卡汉班托塔港是“一带一路”倡议的重点项目之一,也是国际舆论关注的焦点。与西方国家普遍将汉班托塔港项目建构为“中国为小国制造债务陷阱”或“中国掠夺性政策”的负面舆论不同,斯里兰卡媒体认可这一项目发挥了促进斯里兰卡经济发展与推进中斯两国关系的正向效应,在“中国债务陷阱论”“港口股份所有权”“港口项目加剧大国博弈”等议题上反映了各利益相关方的政治博弈与话语竞争,展现了复杂、多元的舆论生态。媒体报道显示,斯里兰卡对中斯加深合作既有期待也有疑虑。斯里兰卡民众怀有的“小国对大国处于弱势”的心理倾向、斯里兰卡国内政治局势变化以及大国博弈是影响港口项目舆论生态的内外动因,但项目本身的进展与成效仍是其中的决定性因素。后疫情时期,中国针对汉班托塔港等关键项目需要“软硬并进”,在调整“一带一路”倡议的建设模式、妥善处理债务问题等工作的基础上,改变被动应对西方舆论的局面,为推进更加透明、更加具有可持续性和共商共建的“一带一路”建设营造良好的舆论环境。

As a maritime and commercial hub linking the east and west,the Hambantota Port of Sri Lanka,which is one of the key projects of the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI),has become a focal point of world attention.Different from the western media coverage which generally sees the port as the embodiment of“China’s debt trap for small countries”or“China’s predatory policy,”the Sri Lankan media recognizes the project’s positive role in facilitating Sri Lanka’s economic development and promoting China-Sri Lanka relations.In its complex and diverse coverage,it reveals the political and discursive competition that lies behind the debates over topics like China’s“debt trap”,port ownership,and the port’s role in intensifying great power competition.Media reports show that Sri Lanka is both expectant and hesitant about cooperation with China,and uneasy about being caught up in the geopolitical whirlwind involving China,the United States,and India.Although the port project will find itself in a public opinion climate caused by factors such as the Sri Lankan social psychological perception(“small states are at the mercy of great powers”),changes in the domestic political situation and great power competition,the progress and effectiveness of the project itself are still the decisive factors.In the post-Covid era,China needs“both hard and soft diplomatic tools”to deal with the public opinion environment surrounding key projects such as the Hambantota Port.In addition to adjusting the development model of the BRI and properly handling the debt issue,it should not just passively react to the Western public opinion,but work to create a favorable public opinion environment for the BRI by making it more transparent,sustainable and cooperative.