China paves modern Silk Road for Asian development

Around 2,000 years ago, merchants and caravans began moving east and west along the Silk Road, trading goods and technology. Now, a modern Silk Road, rekindling trade, attracting investment and sharing prosperity, is in the making.

The Belt and Road Initiative has gained enormous traction since it was proposed by China in 2013. It consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, aiming to build a trade and infrastructure network con­necting Asia with Europe and Africa along, and beyond, the ancient trade routes.

The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the highest-level international meeting so far for the initiative attracted 29 heads of state and government lead­ers.

“A great many projects have been pushed forward under the canopy of the initiative. Dots have been connected to form the big pic­ture that China envisioned,” said Xiang Junyong, a researcher with Renmin University of China who follows the progress of the initiative.

“The main structure of a mod­ern Silk Road has roughly taken shape, through better links between cities along the routes, trade zones, international economic corridors and better ports,” said Xiang.

More than 100 countries and international organizations sup­port the initiative. China has signed agreements with at least 40 of them.

China has invested more than 50 billion U.S. dollars in countries in­volved from 2014 to 2016, official data show.

Fifty-six economic and trade cooperation zones have been built by Chinese businesses in Belt and Road countries, generating nearly 1.1 billion dollars in tax revenue and creating 180,000 local jobs.

Not China’s exclusive road

“The new Silk Road is by no means a private path for China. Rather, it is a grand avenue that accommodates the prosperity of many nations,” said Fang Aiqing, vice commerce minister of China.

When the global economy is troubled by weak growth, weak de­mand with financial fluctuations lurking round each corner, the Belt and Road Initiative, which targets growth and rebalancing the global economy, is a desirable solution, he said.

“Most countries along the Belt and Road are developing nations and eager for better economic per­formance and regional economic integration,” Fang said.

China’s initiative docks with the individual development strategies of different countries, such as Aus­tralia, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Po­land, Turkey and Vietnam. Railways, ports, oil pipelines and other infra­structure have been built. Cultural, educational, tourism and archaeo­logical exchanges are ongoing.

The Thai-China Industrial Park in Rayong, located some 200 km from Bangkok, is one of the most successful economic zones. It hosts about 90 companies and provides jobs for 20,000 locals.

“We bring advanced technolo­gy to local users,” said Wang Jianyi, chairman of Chinese optical cable provider Futong Group, which has a plant in the industrial park.

Now every week, some 4,200 direct flights connect China with 43 Belt and Road countries. Rail­way border procedures have been streamlined, with 39 China-Europe freight train routes currently in op­eration.

The China-Europe container trains ship goods like laptops, ce­ramics and oil-drilling equipment to Europe and bring back such things as food, wine and baby formula.

A growing number of compa­nies, both Chinese and foreign, ship their goods through the railway net­work from cities like Chengdu and Chongqing in China.

“Transportation connectivity is the foundation of the Belt and Road Initiative,” said Wu Chungeng of the Ministry of Transport.

China has signed more than 130 bilateral and regional transport agreements, he said.

China firms infuse funds

Chinese companies have increased their investment in countries along the routes, building overseas tech­nological centers and manufactur­ing bases.

“Chinese companies are devel­oping fast, especially hi-tech firms. Many are ready to create value and spread their technology,” said Zhang Xiaodong, head of the Belt and Road industry promotion asso­ciation at Beijing’s Zhongguancun Science Park.

Beijing OriginWater Technolo­gy Co. Ltd, specializing in safe water solutions in Zhongguancun, has developed advanced membrane fil­ters to block pollutants and purify water.

The company plans to invest 150 million dollars in a water pollu­tion treatment program in Oman.

“We will pour more investment in Belt and Road countries for deep­er cooperation,” said He Yuanping, vice president of Beijing OriginWa­ter.

Belt and Road countries need technology. There is a huge poten­tial for cooperation between China’s tech parks and those countries, ac­cording to the Zhongguancun ad­ministration.

Since 2014, Tus-Holdings, based in Beijing, has trained man­agers and planned industrial parks for countries such as Egypt, Malay­sia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia and Thailand.

“China’s high-tech zones, uni­versity science parks and incuba­tors have set a good example for other developing countries,” said Yang Hongmei, vice president of a Tus-Holdings research academy.