The Economist - USA (2020-02-08)

TheEconomistFebruary 8th 2020 3

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nchina’s borderwithKazakhstan,a newSilkRoadcityhas

sprungupwithsuchspeedthatGoogleEarthhasscarcelybe-

guntorecordthehigh-risesthatnowfloatona wintermistabove

thesteppe.Whatoncewouldhavebeenflatteredtobecalleda

hard-scrabblebordertownisnowhometo 200,000people,giant

outdoorvideoscreensextollingthegloriesofa newSilkRoad,and

restaurantsservingsashimiandEuropeanwine.Khorgoshasbe-

comeChina’sgatewaytoCentralAsia,andallthewaytoEurope.

A twintownisgoingupinKazakhstan.A duty-freemallalready

straddlestheborderforKazakhstanistogetdealsonbooze,per-

fumeandcut-priceChinesegoods.Butthekeyfeatures,justacross

theborder,arethegiantgantrycranesmoreusuallyseeninthe

world’sports.TheKhorgosGatewayisa containerterminal,a “dry

port”builtfromscratchin2014.Thetransporthubisintendedasa

criticallinkinwhatChina’spresident,XiJinping,hascalledthe

“Eurasianlandbridge”.AmongitsinvestorsisChina’scosco, one

oftheworld’sshippinggiants.ItisrunbydpWorld,Dubai’sport

operator. Lastyearthedryporthandled160,000teus (a unit

equivalenttoa 20-footcontainer).HichamBelmaachi,itsMoroc-

canmanager,expectsthattoriseto400,000in2025.

Khorgosisinthemiddleofnowhere:Eurasia’spoleofinacces-

sibility,thepointonEarthfarthestfromanyocean,liesnotfar

away.Now,beyondit,a vastnewEurasiansupercontinentisform-

ing.ThepromiseisnotjustofrailwaysthroughCentralAsiatoEu-

ropebutofgargantuanplans—somealreadyrealised—forpipe-

lines,roads,high-speedrailandfibre-opticcables.

It isreshapingthegeographyoftheEarth’sbiggestlandmass.In

thisnewspace,theobstaclesoftherecentpast—theIronCurtain,

ChinalockedinitsMao-madeautarky,eventhephysicalimpedi-

mentsoftheHimalayas,theInnerAsiandesertsandthemelting

Arcticitself—areofdiminishingconsequence.Thephysicaland

psychologicaldistancebetweenEuropeandEastAsiaisshrinking

asthesparselypopulatedexpanseattheheartofEurasiaisbeing

wrangled,throughnewinfrastructure,tomanageablesize.That,at

least,ishowChineseplannersseeit.And,takingthehistorical

view,if thereisa surprise,it isthatthetransformationisnotbeing

madeintheWest’simageoraccordingtoitsrules.Asiaiscoming

toEurope,nottheotherwayaround.

TheSilkRoad’srenaissancehasbeenturbochargedaspartofa

ChineseexpansionthathascometobeknownastheBeltandRoad

Initiative(bri).ThebriisChina’ssignature,indeedall-encom-

passing,foreignpolicy—the“projectofthecentury”,asMrXicalls

it.Butwhatexactlyisit?Isitmostlyaidortrade?Isita Chinese

MarshallPlan?Doesithaverealsubstanceorisitjusta branding

exerciseforChina’sinternationalrise?Andwhyisthelandpart

calleda belt,andtheseapartcalleda road?

TheWorldBankhasanelementaldefinitionofthebri: “aChi-

na-ledefforttoimproveconnectivityandregionalco-operation

onatrans-continentalscalethroughlarge-scaleinvestments”.

Thatisa goodsummaryasfarasitgoes,andhelpingpoorcoun-

triesbuildinfrastructureisanimportantcomponent.Theglobal

needfornewinfrastructureisimmense.TheAsianDevelopment

Bank(adb) estimatesthatAsiaaloneneedstoinvest$26trnbe-

tween 2016 and2030,or$1.7trna year,if it istomaintaineconomic

Return to centre

Special report

China’s flagship foreign policy is a way to put itself at the centre of the world once again,

writes Dominic Ziegler

China’s Belt and Road

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