TY - BOOK AU - LAWRENCE Ithrana TI - Brunei's response to China's Belt and Road Initiative: embracing asymmetry, enchancing authority PY - 2021/// KW - BRUNEI KW - ASEAN KW - BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE KW - BRI KW - CHINA N2 - This article examines Brunei's response to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Brunei has welcomed investments from China since well before the launch of the BRI in 2013 and has become even more receptive as the investments have grown. Brunei's low-profile but enthusiastic receptivity to the BRI is motivated primarily by its ruling elite's legitimation-driven pragmatism to maintain its authority by diversifying Brunei's energy-based economy. The convergence between the sultan's Brunei Vision 2035 (Wawasan Brunei 2035) and Xi Jin-ping's BRI has increased the political importance of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) to Brunei ER -