CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 4/2017

LE MONDE ONE BELT, ONE ROAD INITIATIVE
The construction of new pipelines, like the
Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan gas
pipeline for example, is one the main goals
of the One Belt, One Road initiative.
8,000 countries
billion dollars.
The amount of overall investments China
expects to be funded in all the 68 participation
of the One Belt, One Road initiative.
The construction of railway tunnels,
especially in mountainous Central
Asia, offers opportunities for
Austrian technology suppliers.
UNIQUE
LUXURIOUS
UNFORGETTABLE
CELEBRATING NEW YEAR’S EVE
The Golden Bridge of the
Silkroad in Beijing is one of the
mosaic stones to promote the
One Belt, One Road project.
Manzhouli, China‘s oldest and
busiest rail gate to Russia, is a
major investment target.
The Angren–Pap railway in
Uzbekistan, a 1.9 billion
US-dollar investment, is one
of the first Silk Road projects
completed.
se companies are already behind several energy projects,
including oil and gas pipelines between China
and Russia, Kazakhstan and Myanmar. Roads and
infrastructure projects are also underway in Ethiopia,
Kenya, Laos and Thailand“ as well as harbour
developments in Malaysia or trade agreements with
far away countries like Chile or New Zealand.
Especially Pakistan is regarded as one of the New
Silk Road‘s foremost supporters. Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif said, the trade route marked the ”dawn of a
truly new era of synergetic intercontinental cooperation“
– an unsurprising praise, since the country stands
at one end of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,
a major gateway to the ”21st Century Maritime Silk
Road“, and benefits from 46 billion dollars of Chinese
investments in new roads, bridges, wind farms and
other China-backed infrastructure projects.
On its Western front, China is trying to unlock its
Central Asian neighbours because many of the routes
through the five former Soviet states Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan
are still beset with border delays, hefty customs
fees, poor roads and railways, and formidable geographic
hurdles – notably mountain ranges in Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan. Each republic has been enthusiastic
about participating since they also benefit
from tackling these difficulties. Better links to Europe
and the Middle East and potential access to seaports,
point to greater trading opportunities and
extra revenues from transit fees to and from China.
As a result, there have so far been railway lines completed
from China to Iran and Afghanistan via the
region and the first Chinese cargo train has already
Trains & Railways. A poster of a high-speed train that shall cross
the bridge over the Mekong River near Luang Prabang in Laos,
which is one of the minor participating Silk Road countries.
arrived in Tehran in February 2016. Other investments
include a new highway, connecting the north
and south of Kyrgyzstan and a highway between it
and Uzbekistan. There also is the “Angren-Pap“ railway
tunnel in Uzbekistan, which had been opened in
2016, the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan gas
pipeline and the “Dushanbe-Kulyab-Khorog-Kulma-Karokurum“
highway in Tajikistan.
Among Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan certainly
is China‘s most important Silk Road partner
and Beijing already by the year 2015, had signed 33
contracts with Astana for infrastructure investments
amounting to so 70 billion US-dollars. As the consultancy
PwC reports, these include the 3.5 billion
dollar expansion of the Khorgos East Gate, a dry port
on the Eastern border to China, plus investments for
the Shalkar-Beineu railroad, the Zheskazgan-Saksaulskaya
railroad and the Kuryk ferry terminal.
This massive One Belt, One Road initiative, as a
matter of fact is one of the biggest diplomatic
projects a well. For China, the easier part of this
seems to be handling the already very warm relations
to the Central Asian countries, although some unfinished
border demarcation and disputes in several
unsettled areas, especially between Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
and Uzbekistan, have to be solved. Also, there
is a cautious and sometimes hostile attitude towards
Chinese migrants and workers from local people, especially
in Kazakhstan.
PHOTOS: ÖBB, FOTOLIA, COURTESY BY COMPANIES
One of the key diplomatic challenges in regard to
the New Silk Road will naturally be managing the
relations between China and Russia, which is at the
time being, supposed to support OBOR since one of
its own mega projects, the realisation of the so called
West-East Corridor (an expansion of the Eastern Siberian
railway) would be a perfect supplement of the
One Belt, One Road network. On the other hand,
Chinese investments in Central Asia are potential
flashpoints, because Russia keeps Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
and possibly soon Tajikistan in its orbit
through the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Russia
can benefit from improved connectivity and
therefore stability in the region, but it wants guarantees
that One Belt, One Road won‘t undermine the
economic relevance of the EEU.
Finally, the European Union, as the British paper
“The Conversation“ puts it, ”has been remarkably silent
despite the projecs obvious geopolitical and economic
importance“, given its trade volume with China
of over 600 billion US-dollars in 2016. Apart from
internal issues like Brexit, experts attribute this somehow
hesitant approach to the fear that One Belt,
One Road might turn out as a double-edged sword.
Connectivity should benefit everyone, but more
competitive Chinese goods flooding Europe, could
be a potential threat, unless EU members can coordinate
their response. Being aware of possible counter
reactions, Xinhua, the Chinese state-run media
agency, already presented Beijing‘s point of view towards
them: ”As some Western countries move backwards
by erecting ‚walls‘, China is contriving to build
bridges, both literal and metaphorical.“
IN 220 METRES HEIGHT
DINING buffet, live cooking, midnight snack
DANCING live band
PARTYING live DJanes
ENJOYING breathtaking view of Vienna
CREATING GOLDEN MEMORIES
@ 57 RESTAURANT & LOUNGE
events.melia.vienna@melia.com or +43 190 104
Donau City Strasse 7 | 1220 Vienna (Austria)
melia.com | 57melia.com | facebook.com/57melia
instagram.com/57restaurant
58 Cercle Diplomatique 4/2017