New Rail Links to Boost China’s Western
Access
This new Silk Road is to be made of steel,
with overland connections energizing Central Asia.
By Rashad Karimov
6100
0
In the
late 20th century, the acceleration of globalization, and especially the end of
the Cold War, which had hindered exchange between East and West, created the
necessary conditions for the revival of the famed Silk Road. Since the 1990s,
many railways, roads and pipelines have been put into operation or under
construction along that ancient route, not only contributing to economic, trade
and cultural exchange among the countries of the region, but also having a
significant impact on the geopolitics of Eurasia.
Rail,
in particular, is expected to nurture trade between China and countries far to
the west, such as Azerbaijan, as well as within Central Asia, bolstering
China’s presence there and benefiting the region.
Take
the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) project. On November 21, 2007, the presidents of
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey inaugurated the construction of a new rail link
between Kars and Baku, via Tbilisi. The project is designed to facilitate
shipping of cargo between Asia and Europe, and will connect the railway
networks of Central Asia, the Caucasus and China with those of Azerbaijan and
Europe.
The BTK
railway will have an international impact, as it transports goods from Asia to
Europe. It is expected to transport 1.5 million passengers and 3
million tons of freight per year. Forecasts predict that by 2034 it will
transport 3 million people and more than 16 million tons of goods.
The BTK
railway is slated for completion in 2014, at an estimated total cost of $500
million. Connecting China, Central Asia and Europe, it will create a transport
corridor and one continuous connection from Shanghai to London. The new line
should bolster the transportation capacity of the South Caucasus and diversify
the nature of the goods that are shipped through these three countries to world
markets.
On
September 7, 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a speech in the Nazarbayev
University of Kazakhstan and proposed the strategic concept of jointly building a Silk Road Economic
Zone. He offered five specific initiatives: strengthen policy
communication, connect roads, keep trade smoothly flowing, facilitate the
circulation of currency, and keep the people connected. It is a modern
reincarnation of the ancient Silk Road. As transit points, Central Asian
countries can gain considerable economic benefits from a new Silk Road,
reducing their dependence on Russian transport lines, and attenuating the
northern giant’s geopolitical leverage over the region.
This
new Silk Road will be made of steel. The BTK project is not the only rail link
being considered. China and Turkey have discussed constructing a high-speed
railway that would stretch across Turkey. This would be the largest
railway project in Turkey, running from Kars, the easternmost city of Turkey on
the border with Armenia, crossing to Istanbul. It would then connect with the
Marmaray railway tunnel being constructed across the Bosphorus strait, before
finally reaching Edime, a city near the border of EU member countries Bulgaria
and Greece.
With a
budget of $35 billion, much of it provided as loans from China, this Kars-Edime
line would join with the BTK project and enable China to transport its exports
to as far away as the U.K. by land.
Dr.
Rashad Karimov, 34, is a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Analysis
Department of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the
Republic of Azerbaijan.
The basic link to this post can be found at:
http://thediplomat.com/2013/12/new-rail-links-to-boost-chinas-western-access/
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