Buckle Up for Development

by+Jia+Jinjing

On September 7， 2013， during his visit to four Central Asian countries， Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the proposal to construct the Silk Road Economic Belt. Many analysts agree that after two decades of cooperation and development， countries along this already existing economic corridor， with the vigorous Asian-Pacific economic circle to the east and well-developed European economic circle to the west， are advancing towards common prosperity under the principles of cooperation， friendship， and win-win relations.

The Silk Road Economic Belt is the first concrete project proposed by China related to intercontinental economic cooperation and integration. During his speech at Nazarbayev University in Astana， Kazakhstan， President Xi offered the following suggestions to enhance trust and ease doubts： Step up policy communication， improve road connectivity， promote unimpeded trade， enhance monetary circulation， and increase understanding between peoples.

Historically， the Silk Road connected China， Central Asia， Middle East， Europe， and even North Africa. The road， which encompassed many “smaller” routes and covered a vast area， served not only as a conduit for prosperous trade， but also an important passage for promoting knowledge and technological exchange， cultural interaction， and communication between peoples. Along the Silk Road， many splendid cultures emerged， such as major civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia， Egypt， Indus Valley， and China， cultures of medieval Gandhara， Khwarezm， and Sassan， and other cultures with far-reaching influences such as the Timurid Dynasty， Arab Empire， and Ottoman Empire. Diverse cultures， religions， ethnic groups， and social forms developed and are preserved along the road， which hinted at the rich possibilities of future human development. In this sense， the Silk Road is the “gene bank” of human civilization.

China and many countries along the Silk Road treat each other with an open and inclusive attitude. They use dialogue instead of conflict， and set examples of harmonious co-existence between countries with different social systems， beliefs， cultures， and traditions. Now， China and its neighbors along the Silk Road are at a critical stage of development. Facing unprecedented opportunities and challenges， these countries have formulated unique goals for medium and long-term development in accordance with their national conditions. If these countries strengthen cooperation comprehensively， and turn advantages in political relations， geographic adjacencies， and economic cooperation into a community of interests which aims for deeper cooperation， sustainable growth， and win-win relations， a sounder environment for economic and political development will be created.

Construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt will bring new possibilities for the economic development of Central Asian countries， and help strengthen economic ties between Central Asia and Europe. Geographically， Central Asia connects the worlds largest energy base and the worlds largest manufacturing center. However， due to a lack of ports， Central Asia， which abounds in natural resources， land， and human resources， lags behind amidst globalization. Construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt will make its geographic location a unique advantage of Central Asia. These countries can make better use of ports in China and Europe， and will be better incorporated into the global financial and trade system. Since the Silk Road Economic Belt covers a population of nearly three billion， both its market size and potentials are huge， especially cooperative potentials in fields of trade and investment. Once the economic belt is formed， a new common market will be established and a new pole of global economic growth will take shape around it.

For Middle East countries， the economic belt will further open Chinas energy consumption market. Since the U.S. is now striving to create a self-sufficient energy supply， the economic belt means a great deal to the Middle East. To developing countries along the economic belt， they can benefit from Chinas economic development and learn from its experience， which is of great importance for their own respective developments.

In terms of transit， the largest existing transportation artery along the economic belt is the “Second Eurasian Continental Bridge，” also known as the New Eurasian Continental Bridge， which connects Lianyungang City in Chinas Jiangsu Province to the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe Railway， with a total length of 11，179 kilometers， began formal operation in October 2010. Since then， the volume of goods transported along its rails has witnessed rapid increase， and the railway has been dubbed the Third Eurasian Continental Bridge.

In Northeast Asia， South Asia and Central Asia， national highways connect China to Russia， Kazakhstan， and Pakistan. Other passages now under construction include the China-KyrgyzstanUzbekistan Highway and the Dushanbe-Channak Highway.

On June 3， 2014， the Xinjiang section of the Lanzhou-Urumqi High-speed Railway， on which trains move as fast as 250 kilometers per hour， began formal testing. The railway is expected to open by the end of this year， setting a foundation for the “highspeed rail era” of the Silk Road. At present， Chinas high-speed railway has already reached a trial speed of nearly 600 kilometers per hour， which means people could one day cross Eurasia on ground in a single day.

The Silk Road Economic Belt leads to mutual benefits and win-win results. It will strengthen economic cooperation amongst participating countries， promote infrastructure construction and institutional innovation， create new economic growth points and job opportunities， and enhance the endogenous power and risk resistance capacity of countries along the belt. Construction of the belt should bring various parties advantages and potentials into full play， and build a community of common interests and common destiny for all participants.