CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 4/2017

LE MONDE ONE BELT, ONE ROAD INITIATIVE
Anadyr
Nome
Fairbanks
The new Silk Road –
all you need to know
Mega projects, multi-billion-dollar-investments, ultra-high hopes – the “One
Belt, One Road“ initiative of China‘s President Xi Jinping is about to become
the biggest globalisation development ever. Here is the latest update.
Text: Rainer Himmelfreundpointner
UNITED
KINGDOM
London
,
BELGIUM
KEY
ITALY
Venice
GREECE
Historic Silk Road
A network of trade routes which linked the
regions of the ancient world in commerce,
established during the Chinese Han Dynasty
around 130 BC and boycotted and closed by
the Ottoman Empire in the mid of 15th century.
New Silk Road – sea routes
Maritime trade corridors reaching from the
Pacific via the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean
and the Eastern coasts of Africa.
New Silk Road – land routes
Originally called the “economic belt“, this part Bahn
of the New Silk Road shall connect most of the
Asian countries with Europe.
Pipeline
Russian West-East Corridor
This major Russian transit route shall
supplement the “One Belt, One Road“ initiative.
Seeweg
UKRAINE
Cairo
EGYPT
Moscow
Istanbul
TURKEY
Tehran
Baghdad
Bahn Railway
Pipeline
Seeweg Sea route
Straße Highway
Hafen Port
Straße
Hafen
KENYA
Yekaterinburg
IRAQ
Djibouti
Lamu
IRAN
Astana
Novosibirsk
Taschkent
Bishkek
Ashgabat
Dushanbe
PAKISTAN
Gwadar
Islamabad
INDIA
RUSSIA
Ürümqi
Colombo
SRI
LANKA
Kolkata
GRAFIK: FRANZ DEIX
Irkutsk
Anxi
Xi'an
CHINA
Vladivostok
Beijing
Hangzhou
Fuzhou
Guangzhou
Hanoi
VIETNAM
Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA
INDONESIA
Jakarta
,
MAJOR SILK ROAD SECTIONS
ALASKA (USA)
China – Xi’an & Ürümqi
Xi‘an, the capital of China‘s Shaanxi Province and the oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals plus home to
the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huan, is the starting point of the New Silk Road‘s land routes. A more
than 2,000 kilometres high speed railway which is already under heavy construction, will connect it with the
city of Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China – which also was a
major hub on the ancient Silk Road during China‘s Tang dynasty.
Kazakhstan – Astana
The world‘s 9th largest country in Central Asia is China‘s key partner in the One Belt, One Road initiative
(OBOR). Already by 2015, China‘s leader Xi Jinping has signed 33 contracts with Kazakhstan‘s president
Nursultan Nazarbayev, covering infrastructure investments of some 70 billion US-dollars. The most important
project by now is the $ 3,5 billion expansion of Khorgos Eastern Gate, a dry port on the Eastern border with
China. COSCO Shipping, one of the world’s largest logistics service providers, and Lianyungang Port Holding,
have recently acquired stakes in the project. Other significant investments include the Shalkar-Beineu railroad,
the Zheskazgan-Saksaulskaya railroad, and the Kuryk ferry terminal.
The Russian West-East Corridor
Basically an expansion and upgrade of the East Siberian Railway, this “corridor“ of railways and highways shall
connect London with Alaska via Moscow, the Southern regions of Russia and the Siberian port of Anadyr. This
route would be some 13,000 kilometres long and shall become part of OBOR, possibly leading further to New
York via Canada and the USA.
Kyrgyzstan & Tajikistan
These two Central Asian countries on the Western borders of China are major supporters of OBOR due to the
massive investments in railways and pipelines coming with the project. Kyrgyzstan with its capital Bishkek has
already started the construction of a 433 kilometre North-South highway, designed to connect Balykchi in the
Issyk-Kul province, to Jalal-Abad city, a project of nearly 1 billion US-dollars. In regard to Dushanbe, the capital
of Tajikistan, China‘s head of state Xi has already pledged to ”continue to strive for the development of
neighboring Tajikistan“ with special emphasis on the new Silk Road and ”achieving energy independence, food
security and pulling the country out of the communication deadlock.“
Uzbekistan & Turkmenistan
Already in 2015, China has signed contracts for 31 Silk Road projects worth some 15.5 billion US-dollars with
Uzbekistan during high-level meetings in its capital of Tashkent. One of the major projects, the 123 kilometre
Angren–Pap railway – which provides a direct link between Tashkent and the Ferghana Valley with total costs of
1.63 billion US-dollars – funded by the Uzbek government and China Exim Bank, had already been completed in
2016. Also, the construction of a new major oil pipeline through Turkmenistan, boosting the influence of its capital
Ashgabat and expected to swallow at least some 8 billion US-dollars of investments, is supported by China.
Iran & Turkey
With the subsequent lifting of the international sanctions against Iran, agreed on with the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action 2015 in Vienna, Teheran will play an important role in completing the OBOR project on its
way to Istanbul in Turkey – from where is about to lead further to the port of Antwerp via traditional trade
routes. The old “Caravanseray project“ of Ankara is also considered as a precursor to the New Silk Road
initiative.
Africa & Maritime Silk Road
According to official figures, the amount of direct foreign investment from China into African countries is
already considered to sum up to at least 30 billion US-dollars and supposed to jump up significantly during
realisation of the Maritime Silk Road, for which the port of Lamu in Kenya is a major hub in Africa. Additional
important knots along the Maritime Silk Road are the ports of Malacca (Malaysia), Gwadar (Pakistan) and
Colombo (Sri Lanka).
New York
CANADA
USA
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Cercle Diplomatique 4/2017
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