Silk Road Economic Belt–A Welcome Proposal

By+staff+reporter+HOU+RUILI

THE proposal to build a Silk Road economic belt has received proactive responses from Central Asian countries and regions along the route.

The city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan， for example， has increasingly closer ties with China， according to Deputy Mayor Jamshed Urakov. Besides trade in numerous products made in China， many local people are learning Chinese to facilitate business operations. The city of Mary， Turkmenistan， also welcomed Chinas participation in local infrastructure construction. As the capital city of Mary Province， Mary plays an important role in the natural gas link between China and Turkmenistan.

Opening Convenient Routes

Further west， Andrejs Pildegovics， state secretary of the Latvian Foreign Ministry， has also expressed his delight at the proposal. After visiting Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， he was impressed by Urumqi， the capital city that has successfully retained its ethnic features in the course of modernization. In September 2013， he led a delegation of representatives from six Latvian companies to the city for the third ChinaEurasia Expo， seeking cooperation opportunities with China and Central Asian countries in the field of transport， IT， education and culture. In fact， since 2008 some Latvian companies in the transport and telecom sectors have established business ties with Xinjiang to expand the Central Asian markets.

Mr. Pildegovics father formerly worked at the embassy of Latvia in China. He has long been engaged in researching Chinese culture and is now the dean of the Confucius Institute at Latvia University. “Influenced by my father， I also love Chinese culture. My wife can speak Chinese， too. We are all ‘China hands，” said the state secretary. Of the 28 EU member states， Latvia has witnessed the fastest economic growth – its GDP rose by 4.5 percent for the first half of 2013. Latvia will take up presidency of the EU in 2015 and， according to Mr. Pildegovics， will make every effort to promote communication and cooperation among the EU， China and Central Asian countries.

Mutual benefit will be central to the role of the Silk Road economic belt –what one country or region may be lacking， another will be sure to supplement. Central and West Asian countries are generally weak in the textile industry， for example， while neighboring Xinjiang has advantages in this field due to foreign investment and industrial reorganization. In 2012， Xinjiang produced 28.26 million garments and 400，000 square meters of carpet. According to Liang Yong， director of the Economic and Information Commission of the autono- mous region， Xinjiang will increase its garment exports to countries in Central and West Asia by building the Horgos special economic zone.

In recent years， China has established a number of special trade and finance zones like this along its border regions facing Central and West Asia. In 2011， two special economic zones were built in Kashgar and Horgos， two cities located to the north and south of Mount Tianshan. Each zone receives a government subsidy of RMB 600 million per year for infrastructure construction. At present， the two remote land port cities have become focal spots of the Central Asian trade circle， with increasing influx of manpower， capital and other resources.

Kashgar， or Kashi， an important city on the ancient Silk Road， is 400 kilometers from Bishkek， capital of Kyrgyzstan， and 700 kilometers from Tashkent， capital of Uzbekistan. In fact， within a 1，500-kilometer range， routes out of Kashgar can reach eight capital cities of foreign counties， making it better connected than Urumqi. The finance and trade zone in Kashgar is the first to be built in Chinas border regions. When completed， it will become a regional financial hub for Central and South Asia， offering equity transaction， futures and bond trading.

Located on the border between China and Kazakhstan， Horgos Special Economic Development Zone covers an area of 73 square kilometers. Its land port area contains many foreign trade gateways， such as the Horgos International Border Cooperation Center， the ChinaKazakhstan natural gas pipeline and China-Kazakhstan railway and highway.

In the future， regional cooperation will be strengthened via economic and trade policies. According to Radnaasumbereliyn Gonchigdorj， vice-chairman of Mongolias State Great Hural （Parliament）， Mongolia， bordering Xinjiang to the northeast， has engaged in economic and trade cooperation with Xinjiang via its four open ports. “Now， we are considering developing the area between Mongolias west and Chinas Xinjiang，”said Gonchigdorj， “In that way the area will play a positive role for both parties， and bring about practical economic benefits.”

United in Cultural Identity

Mohammed Hu Shinan， an Iranian investor， has done business in China for more than 10 years. Four years ago he visited Yinchuan， capital city of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region， and found that it had a large Muslim population and its business relations with Arab countries lasted more than 2，000 years. Sharing the same religion and cultural customs as its inhabitants， Hu Shinan quickly grew fond of the city and set up a company to export Iranian date juice， carpets and handicrafts to Ningxia. To date， the company has registered a gross export volume of US $15 million.

Known as the home to the largest Muslim community in China， Ningxia has 2.29 million Hui residents who make up more than one third of the regions total population. The Hui ethnic group shares the same beliefs and customs as Arab peoples， and therefore have strong cultural ties and profound friendships. In September 2012， Ningxia established an open economy pilot area and a comprehensive bonded area in Yinchuan， making it the first in inland China. With a development concept of “low costs in taxes and dues， land， logistics and financing，” the area is open to Arab countries and Muslim regions to exchange and cooperate with China in economy and trade， energy development， science and technology， education， culture and tourism， as well as investment.

Jumping at the chance， Hu Shinan opened three branches of his business in the bonded area to process and pack date juice， nuts and seafood. Besides exploring Chinas market， Hu Shinan also plans to expand into the Southeast Asian market.“I want to introduce Irans pure， natural agricultural products into Ningxia， transport raw materials to the bonded area and then export to Southeast Asia after processing，” Hu Shinan said.

For the past decade， the bilateral trade between China and Arab countries has maintained a rapid expansion at 30 percent per year. During the China-Arab States Expo held in Yinchuan in September 2013， a total of 158 contracts worth about RMB 260 billion were signed， including 39 contracts worth over RMB 1 billion each， and four contracts worth over RMB 10 billion each. The contracts involved cooperation in energy and chemicals， new materials， equipment manufacturing， halal meat， infrastructure， culture and tourism， as well as finance. The contract volume exceeded the total of those signed at the three annual China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forums from 2010 to 2012， the predecessor of the China-Arab States Expo.

Abundant Tourism Resources

Linked by the Silk Road since ancient times， China and countries in Central Asia have maintained close ties in business and culture. Along the Silk Road， there are abundant tourism resources with profound cultural associations.

China， Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are working hard to add the Silk Road to the World Heritage List. China has numerous historical sites along the route， such as the famous Mogao Grottoes， first constructed in the fourth century， and the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Qin Dynasty （221-206 BC）. Meanwhile， Central Asia is also home to bountiful cultural heritage sites related to the Silk Road.

Moreover， the natural landscapes and environment along the Silk Road have a unique style. Lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan， for example， is a worldfamous alpine lake， which is ice-free all year round. The Karakul Lake （meaning“black lake”） in Tajikistan is popular among travelers for its out-of-this-world scenery and the clarity of reflection in its waters， whose color ranges from dark green to azure and light blue. The 7，495-meter Ismoil Somoni Peak is the highest mountain in Tajikistan and famous for glacier exploration. In addition， countries in Central Asia boast a variety of folk arts， such as Turkmenistans annual horseracing festival in April.

As the starting point of the ancient Silk Road， Chinas Shaanxi Province has seven scenic spots that are candidates for World Heritage sites， such as the ruins of Weiyang Palace， the tomb of Zhang Qian （？-114 BC） and the Tang Dynasty West Market， which was a landmark of the Silk Road. Shaanxi Province is busy restoring these scenic spots in preparation for cooperation in tourism along the Silk Road economic belt.

At the tourism partnership forum of the Euro-Asia Economic Forum 2013， held September 26-28， officials and representatives from UNESCO， the Tourism Promotion Organization for Asia-Pacific Cities， and 40 countries including Malaysia， Indonesia， Nepal， Turkey， Greece， Slovenia， Italy， and Spain， gathered in Xian to discuss how best to implement cooperation in tourism along the Silk Road.

They believe that the Silk Road is an open tourism belt that extends from Northeast Asia in the east and Western Europe and North Africa in the west. They concluded that it is feasible to combine the ancient Silk Road and the New Eurasian Land Bridge to build a fascinating golden track of tourism in the 21st century.

Enhance Transportation Links

An international train line opened at the end of 2013， linking China and Europe. Starting in Xian， the railroad passes through Xinjiang and Central Asia， and will stimulate the development of railway logistics along the route.

China has invested in many large projects in Central Asian countries that require efficient transportation of a number of materials and facilities； conversely， countries in Central and West Asia are increasing their investment in western China. As a result， transport has become a priority that calls for immediate action. The aim of building a Silk Road economic belt is to optimize regional trade and production factors via transportation infrastructures in key cities along the Silk Road， which will promote regional economic integration. Consequently， a sound transportation network to facilitate regional trade and investment among East Asia， West Asia and South Asia is a must for the viability and prosperity of this economic belt.

Kazakhstan has set up a national logistics company and already established cooperative relationships with several cities in China. The company sent a working group to Xian to discuss cooperation on the new international train line.

With regard to air transportation， currently there is no direct flight from Xian to Central Asia； passengers have to change planes in Russia. The airport town in Xixian New Area， which is under construction， will solve this inconvenience. The airport will offer an international service and a 72-hour visa-free program. The airport town will combine the functions of commercial logistics， finance， convention and exhibition， and culture-themed travel.

In addition， Xian is introducing technology and gleaning expertise from Chinas coastal ports to introduce an inland port service， combined with local transportation. This will enhance logistic efficiency and lower costs.

Reducing the cost of regional trade and investment is not only a global trend， but also the key to developing regional economic cooperation. In order to facilitate trade and investment， cooperation in customs， transportation， entry and exit inspection and quarantine， finance and information exchange must be promoted. And policy coordination and communication among countries must be enhanced. China is working towards this end.