Lake saida is situated in chinas far west on the border with central asia for centuries this Mountain Lake was a strategic transit point along the legendary silk road that ran between europe and the chinese empire. For the nomads living around the lake the opening of the new silk road is in some ways history repeating itself. The trucks have replaced the caravans of the past on the newly built highway. The ambitious project was launched by chinese president xi jinping during a visit to kazakhstan in two thousand and thirteen. Greenish only arc of what things you didnt see. Me shelf was all going to dash a new five hundred year going back one book almost a unique function the for them. Own home. Saw the total back josh. Fall for you and. Go boy did i mean that. The new silk road planned by xi jinping runs for ten thousand kilometers on road and on rail it crosses western china kazakhstan russia and will run all the way to europe its a huge construction site. But what are chinas true intentions behind this mega project. Limited by the way in my opinion this project will change the development of the economy and society but it will definitely have long term geopolitical implications to judea. The new silk road crosses central asia the russian sphere of influence. Bloody near putin and xi jinping regularly affirm their geo Strategic Alliance but this new chinese project could have a massive impact on the relationship between the two countries and in the long term it could do the same to the power balance in the whole of eurasia. Group in the past the silk road was called the axis of the world if you control that road you control the world. China has. Chosen the city of chelm xing as the starting point for its new silk road. With a population of around thirty five million almost as many as beijing and shanghai combined chunk shing is chinas largest urban area. Few people in the west have actually heard of chung xing but this mega city on the young sea river is a symbol of the economic boom the country has been experiencing for the past thirty years. While growth is tapering off in the Major Industrial centers of kwong show and shenzhen chunk shing is proving every day a new that its one of the future engines of chinas economic development. Junctions growth has long been based on heavy industry with cheap labor from the countryside. But in recent years the megacity has put all its Energy Behind the giants of the electronics industry. Thanks to this transformation changing can now boast a growth rate in double figures. Look at that and i will let top cylons reproduced in chongqing the one dot company has three factories in trunk chain with around fifteen thousand employees. This factory has three thousand two hundred employees. We mainly produce a select ops that even. Get the word that the laptops you buy in france and germany are all produced a. Lot body they made it all that you can spend. On their journey from chung xing to europe the computers have to to travel. Thousand kilometers over land to reach the coast then theyll be at sea for at least a month on the South China Sea the strait of malacca and the suez canal. But in practice two months often go by between the time a computer emerges from the factory in china and is sold in europe. That gave rise to the idea of reviving the Overland Route of the silk road that once ran through western China Central asia and russia. The shortening of the transport period isnt the only goal of this new silk road tensions are growing in the South China Sea between beijing and its neighbors taiwan japan and the philippines and even with the unpredictable United States of donald trump an alternative route is becoming vital for china. Those holtons a change president xi jinping has emphasized the great significance of chongqing for global and Asian Pacific logistics one is chongqing is to become a hub for inland logistics that will be open to the outside to. Follow. Chung shing has a clear directive to turn away from the sea and look west. Thats also symbolized by kilometers zero which marks the starting point of the new silk road. In order to supply this new route to the west with goods the city has built logistics facilities to replace the container ports on the coast. That this central freight terminal we send around a thousand can tell us every day to other chinese provinces and to other countries. And were responsible for the safety of these operations thank you very much mate here. Every week three or four trains lifo do spoke in germany watchers are. Carrying around forty one can take. The for us sounds on. The electronic goods loaded on to the trains here arrive in germany after just twelve days instead of traveling eight weeks by sea. However transporting goods by rail costs twice as much two hundred and fifty trains like this one are necessary to carry the same volume as a single container ship. At the moment this train to germany has more of a symbolic significance but its a simple thats important to a china thats looking west not least to put a convincing case for xi jinping this project to both the domestic audience and chinas Economic Partners with european elderado as its end point the new silk road that travels through china for more than two thousand five hundred kilometers will also help develop the countrys infrastructure or so its hoped. This new transport route that combines road and rail will connect and boost regions in western china beyond long joe. L. Wild west of huge expansion and one that was left behind by the Economic Reforms of the past twenty years. The city of lunch is the gateway to chinas wide open west here the new silk road is taking on the characteristics of a marshall plan. The new oversized neighborhoods empty as yet suggest affluence. Between the life size replicas of the sphinx and the parthenon the governments propaganda is regurgitated by all. Being i seriously towards a little of the new silk road will fuel the economy culture and got stronger me the city of leisure will become more attractive as will be improvements of dams. And the little of the less one sit on the new silk road is a collective and therefore a political project thats very promising was a knock on thought about in light of the stagnating Economic Growth that official figures say its seven percent but in reality its four percent the Chinese Government needs a new impulse to prove that its in control of this major project is. The worlds second largest economy china is in reality a colossus with feet of clay and threatened by uncontrolled social developments. Only an economic Success Story benefiting the entire country can keep it together. But this growth is based on the export of products that are made in china and these seriously declined since the Global Economic squeeze china has to change its economic model and that means it has to develop its. M. S. T. Market. Last it has to invest in the infrastructure needed to promote the exchange of goods in just ten years china has built eighty thousand kilometers of highways. The rural road network in the east is impressive but to open up the market to the west there is just one possible route between the foothills of the Tibetan Plateau and the gobi desert. Thats exactly where the new silk road runs. Its a unique transport link and indispensable when it comes to connecting the province of shinji young which means new border to the rest of the country in the arid semi desert expanses of western china beijing and the Central Government were always very far away. But today the new silk road is creating change its altering the concept of time and ultimately it will change the lives of the people here. Go that route they come from all over the country from sheen john chait john shanghai. Beijing and even from the northeast were in a favorable transport location which is good for business in every regard. For it takes ten years ago we were still in our home village but we moved to the city to make money when the Economic Reforms came. From the major league unionist china is undergoing a radical shift particularly in the west of the country and inching jang all these cities being built in the desert are cities with skies grey posing anywhere as they are moving. And theres a lot of activity everywhere. Lights and even music and color o. T. Vos imaging the towards either that or get this context its a message to the chinese population is to attract people to these remote areas that they were so privileged and so offensive. To make it possible for people to move to the remote province of shin jiang or to trade their beijing has extended its high speed train along the entire new highway. The travel time forty two thousand kilometers between lunch show and room she is now at just ten hours down from forty zero zero. Zero as. Such. The fact that. Such as. China now possesses the largest High Speed Rail Network in the world with a length of twenty thousand kilometers three hundred billion dollars was invested in ten years that corresponds to almost the entire annual budget of a country like france. The route of the new silk road is among the newest its been in operation since two thousand and fourteen. The high speed route to cian jiang swallowed a lot of money and itll never be Cost Effective but for beijing the benefit lies elsewhere firstly its political because this route really affirms the desire to connect more closely to the rest of the country. And it also sends a message to neighboring states because china sees itself as the builder of an International High Speed Network to run from russia to central asia and iran. The route currently ns at the cutting edge Railway Station in odum cheek the provincial capital the station has very strict security measures in place. But. Thats because she is not a conventional chinese province there are frequent tensions between the two are gores the local Muslim Minority and the han chinese who make up the vast majority of the population in the rest of the country. Attacks violent riots and economic and religious imbalances the region combines all the ingredients for a highly explosive Cocktail Police roadblocks and military checkpoints secure the new silk road here with strict controls. Moscow. Beijing believes the two cornerstones of peace and shinji on our domestic security and massive Growth Without peace this province cannot become a springboard for chinese interests in central asia. With the support of the government the plan is for room she to become a Regional Center every two years a large trade fair is held to promote the new silk road. The stands are all tailored to attracting visitors from neighboring countries and all dutifully recite the official text to sell the chinese dream. Edition such as this model shows what our Economic Zones will look like when the project is complete. Since. This is how it will be done its our goal to get businesses from the five countries of central asia that surround us to come here at the start of the year we presented down project in russia and kazakhstan Many Companies signalled their interest in our free trade zone it was obvious he told us each a. Modern machine jiang is having positive effects on the development along the new silk road beijing wants to exploit this to prove its competence and experience and building up infrastructure Economic Zones and the Important Energy sector. To do that Big Chinese Companies are needed such as gold wind the number one when it comes to wind energy gold wind is run by will guns. And there will missions that boys will in the Dabangg Chang wind farm in change young its one of the best wind farms in the world its twenty to thirty kilometers wide and eighty kilometers long the special thing about this place is its constant wind speeds feel. Its ideal for a wind from five to shoot of only if i dont see a reason that. The success of gold wind is a classic example of the chinese economic miracle who is a pioneer who built his first Wind Turbines thirty years ago he bought a German Company which resulted in a cleverly negotiated transfer of Technology Today gold wind is the biggest maker of Wind Turbines in the world. At a time when the Energy Market is in a state of completely unprecedented transition his business is perfectly placed. Situ are many sources of Renewable Energies along the entire new silk road concession in kazakhstan or pakistan or even turkey which will be on the court because the time. Theres wind and solar energy everywhere have to pay on the phone and thats the end sure feet out. The real deal yeah developing wind energy further costs a lot of money the chinese plan on a completely different scale weve seen that with their solar panels everythings big. They have a real Strategic Vision were lacking that and youre at. The on. One things clear long term strategies are easier to implement if youre an authoritarian stable government. The new silk road follows in the long tradition of a planned economy pursued by chinas communist party. Always alcohol at first glance the politics beyond the new silk road of the moc of xi jinping when it strengthens his power and his reputation in the budget in the long term it stands for a changing china just what you see debates about this have been going on in economic circles since two thousand and eleven you should say to our this project will have consequences from far into the future and implementing it will take decades so yet again this doesnt just affect painlessly it affects his successes to national and the machine hence you need also an interest if you know she and. Her its another five hundred kilometers from whom she to the cause. The border town of quota goss is situated at the end of the highway. Goss has an old custom station and riders who arent fazed by anything. But china wants to give its new image a visual representation in the form of a huge arch under which the new silk road will soon run. Beyond this triumphal arch is kazakhstan thats where the International Dimension of the chinese project begins. Here the new silk. Road is still a construction site but just three years after she jingping this proclamation the continuation of the chinese road is easy to imagine p. Shan bell machine is one of the main players in this ongoing project hes a frenchman of moroccan origin and an employee of d. P. World a group of Companies Based in dubai and one of the worlds leading logistics organizations ill die on while china is behind me almaty in kazakhstan is in front of me i might see to the left of me is kyrgyzstan and beyond it was becky stan i have russia to my right called gauss at the center between all of these countries this is where everything is happening it being a long slow suspense. And he shunned belmarsh she works for the cause a government which is hoping to get a lot out of the new silk road. Its a road that could turn this middle of nowhere into an outpost of globalization. Zero and on the often if theres any place that symbolizes the meeting of east and west its this one city. That is on the end of the wire the chinese tracks and behind me i. Saw the cars that tracks start to my left like emma dont defeat you see from here you can get to beijing shanghai eon young gung and ningbo and from here you can get to almaty a stana russia and europe. In quarter goes the chinese containers are loaded onto cars a Freight Trains which run on a narrower gauge the russian gauge a leftover of the soviet era from here the goods can reach anywhere in central asia home to a number of countries the size of europe with a population of just seventy million kazakhstan is the big. Just among them. For both of you could offset is it enough we mustnt forget that the border between the former soviet union and china ran along here for a very long time there was almost no contact between the two countries if the border was closed thanks to the new infrastructure a lot of passengers and goods will come through here. On the way to target because goss is the starting point for a revival of the silk road wanted it to settle in its all that all of us feel. Its complete it will cross the entire country over a distance of two thousand four hundred kilometers the construction work is largely being paid for with loans issued by the world bank but also by china itself via its new silk road fund. Thats a state fund running to more than forty billion dollars this new strategy has allowed china to enter the exclusive club of major creditor nations. Until the new silk road opens and china arrives the cosmic steps still live in the old world a world that dates back to soviet times a world that has been governed by president not out of by a with an iron fist for the past twenty five years he recently called the new silk road the project of a century. Nothing has changed here since the fall of the soviet union especially not the old rural road connecting cord goss with the rest of the country. As i was of get i have goods from china im heading to almaty ive been travelling since yesterday so now i have a flat tire. I normally have to complete this stretch in a day. The chinese side is much better at that im. Just very much on the road is very good its well maintained there are no potholes i hope itll improve here too. Launching both of my. News of the imminent opening of the highway is spreading slowly in the step. But for some the new silk road is likely to be bad news. More years do but i see most lorries that stop here have come through russia or europe we clean them before they head into china it appears that you have a were doing a good thing for people there are not many coal washes here. Most of the q. More of course in mali goes up when the highway is open and the old country road will probably be closed there wont be a single vehicle coming through here that i think ill be here another two or three years after that no cars will come through here itll be dead quiet thats. Not. All this is seen with mixed feelings in the villages through which the old road runs theyre hoping for a Better Future and are dubious about what will happen next honestly im sure some of our president as are biased signed this contract with china theres already a functioning train a Freight Train that goes to it was just one look at that what theyre what it transports Raw Materials cars and all kinds of things to many other countries which just must play just what are the facts and thats been all thats already possible was done he manages it the girl who. Took a sensitivity the inhabitants of the small towns near the chinese border are generally happy with whats happening right now theyre not stupid they think of the business side of things and the immediate advantages i use which is what are they really thinking of the future is this what its that theyre going about their business but theyre not pursuing. Long term Strategy First of all the fish. Behind the new silk road that leads to kazakhstans economic capital. Behind the trains that run through the steps china is pursuing a strategy. The opening of a new export route to absorb any excess Industrial Production but the main goal is to intensify chinas economic and political influence all across central asia a region that historically has looked towards russia. In a new forward to going to play the logic of the generous roads that. The wrong way lines. For this little new transport options are an advantage to those located on this line in kazakhstan and elsewhere in central asia in this case. To leave a note something nevertheless its largely a chinese project lets aiming to solve chinas problems that could take years to finish a three from chinas constantly trying to find new space for its population. For the kurdish they used to of course russia has a lot of empty land but russia is still strong central asia is weaker because its the weakest link in the chain. So often chinas population figures are a cause for concern the fear of the yellow peril is always there below the surface a region with such a low population density like kazakhstan is always very interesting for china not least since its very rich in oil and Agricultural Land and oil are two resources that are absolutely vital for chinas growth the new silk road which goes right across kazakhstan and a north westerly direction runs right past the big oil fields as zone of the greatest strategic significance to russia. But these days china is gaining in power thanks to its state run oil company c. N. P c its a pipeline now transports twenty Million Tonnes of casaca well to the chinese province of sheen junge every year theres just one upping it is from a good and within central asia the west is the most important region at the access to the west has to be secured for that because thats where the huge Energy Source is lightish i mean that if he. Pulls off each china once you go beyond the mere exploitation of resources by acting thats why. Has offered an economic and Political Partnership to kazakstan with the concept of the new silk road economist bush will call putting and so the new silk road is also an oil road for china in return beijing is building the infrastructure necessary for kazakhstans development. It it is. It is. But in the village of camp near the oil fields of the Chinese Oil Company the promise of affluence made by president nazarbayev has already been moved back to twenty fifty. Clearly not much of the money for the new silk road gets as far as the small towns and the steps. To look that one of the others theres money here but nobody will give us work. They all goes there its not easy for us in the village theyre not doing anything for us king told him not among us and you can see the state of the road over there the chinese dont employ anyone from there they employ other people how can we be satisfied without as im as an investor i dont manage to. End up today the regional capital the headquarters of the Chinese Oil Company occupy the most impressive building in town. The style of the building marks a break with the typical restraint displayed by chinese investors. Simply said to them when they see n. P. C. Came here they brought in workers from china in the quarter but still they should have had quotas to follow up because of corruption and wangling more and more Chinese Workers came here when it would appear there are a few and fewer kazakh workers in the oil sector to support it plus it was a question of cost as they have the same problem in russia used in the. Usa does lots and then there are jokes on television already that you find more chinese than russians in russias far east as ask him its by the yeah. I think if they come here theyll stay and settle down and you would not. Want to kazakstan is responding very negatively but so do several other countries in central asia on the one hand they sed countries want investors in the other they have their own economic interests they dont want foreigners to own greater shares in their companies than they do powerful us we have to create a win win situation that countries invest in and that allows the population to participate financially to value involved on the whole you. In two thousand and sixteen a law on the sale of Agricultural Land triggered anti chinese demonstrations of first in a country in which every kind of protest gathering is forbidden following the demonstrations to tell you off was arrested because he filmed the event and disseminated the footage. Is no different than most here who was here you may ask if this is the year because you did not tell them because you got. The facilities and what we have. The most of all the words it is also our resources can be sold our people know this but turn a blind eye kazakhs a patient they say never mind lets wait theres no war at least we have food this attitude will be our ruin. Soon we used to deal with humans we understand everything is being sold but we also see that this money is going into the pockets of a few the people at the top that our limit is reached when they take our land because it people will never permit their land to be sold similar although it will be interbank impossible. The chinese expansionism that banks on when when conditions is threatening to fail as a result of domestic corruption something that undermines a country like kazakhstan. In the parks of iraq to buy the only sign of Public Investment in the town many seem to have accepted that there are just pawns in a great game. That in fact what they get you can say the chinese are conquering our country because we live in peace. Theyve been getting oil from a since the late ninetys been decided we have enough oil didnt help themselves it. Was a problem. Like this not just the chinese who are here. We have french American British german and italian people here to the whole world. But. At the moment what you see as expansion depends on the context if youre referring to the globalization of investments and Economic Exchange different than globalization is undoubtedly except of one of the but if you take it to mean domination or he gammon e r one it isnt that it doesnt fit chinas culture much full on the lies yeah little version. In two thousand and fourteen kazakhstan became a member of the eurasian the Economic Union the free trade zone desired by moscow on the other hand the chinese have invested twice as much in kazakhstan since that date. To bear has become a new outpost for this chinese presence just a hundred kilometers from russia and the border station. At the moment russia is still thrilled by the chinese project of the new silk road because its in line with its own eurasian ambitions. Russias advertising spots also promise affluence and cutting edge infrastructure. But the reality reveals that moscow simply isnt capable of keeping up with this rhythm as soon as the lorries from china over central asia reach russia. They follow as zigzag course in order to avoid the huge post soviet potholes. Built them catherine noble with it Rapid Advances in central asia china is demonstrating its strength to russia shows that lessens the russian influence in the region even if it is right for the chinese who use the opening up to capitalism and growth to build Firm Foundations with an infrastructure to see what we still could get these teachers chordal stuff so economy could look theres nothing like it in russia or in the world cup custom that one change any time soon because theres no money left leadership would imagine if we wouldnt even if the woman e. It wouldnt be invested in infrastructure. Predicted. On the map the new silk road leads to the russian town of or in bourg. In the days of the czars it was the gateway to asia. At the entrance to the town lorries and trains cross the ural the river that marks the geographical border between the asian and european continents. Instead of just historically speaking the ural has always formed a natural border just this is just the big brother just look at that as yes in the post caravans coming from asia are always paused here if the couple of the river was a barrier in the book but i need sleep schedule. Today the chinese efforts once again seem to come to a halt at this symbolic border. From here the project of the new silk road depends on moscows goodwill but does putins russia even want it. Watered down but im skeptical about the relationship between china and russia whats your russia is facing a laborious rethinking process a solution that. Russia used to be chinas big brother today it struggles to accept that china is superior and shes also mentally were told of course china and russia are cooperating on military terrain is for geopolitical reasons but the new silk road has little support in russia because russia has its own eurasian project and with the shah says that house will be all yeah its a fun game here they see. The full story and for putin as for stalin before him military strength is the primary factor decision but thats just not enough in todays world and you should you need an efficient Economy Technology science if you were to work with us putins russia has none of that kazakstan and his backers stand are already turning towards china while trying to maintain a balance you know but russias all talk with leaders gordon china has the money all russia has is memories who glorious past was in the new overly complex or. People like to come to the bridge of orenburg to enjoy the sunset looking west towards europe but many confess that theyre looking the other way more and more often. At this moment im sure their hands a sure will be our future course china el there until all the european are other Coalition Countries are british developing and they are free and so alive for our culture well thats why asia results future plans. May be the new silk road will cross the ural river tomorrow and in the end a modern highway will connect china to europe as the railway already does. It will be a europe thats currently coping with many crises and that doesnt seem to have yet grasped the extent of she ging tames project. How can your up counter the power structures china is building along its new silk road. How will europe respond to this new soft imperialism based on Economic Growth and imperialism thats redrawing the map between europe and asia. Snowmen and mountains thats where im heading im getting closer to the algo it was fun in the bay area check in special there yet on my way to the states that. Straight. Now to a gorgeous end and of course when im here ill do a hike in the berry of forest. Next month. Shes sixteen years old solmes her own business and is helping to prevent water shortages in south africa. Sorry something about the water being wasted on her parents. So she installed an aqua phonics system. Its a simple idea thats really set an example. For. Thirty minutes on d w. E takes place personally. With all the wonderful people and stories that make the game so special. For all true fans. Because more than football. They make a commitment. They find solutions. They inspire or. Africa come up. Stories of both people making a difference shaping the nation playing around their continent. Multimedia series for africa. Dot com africa on the move. Turkish german journalist denis your child has arrived back in berlin after being freed from a turkish prison he had been in jail for more than a year without formal charges on allegations of spreading terrorist propaganda in turkey also on friday six of the turkish journalists and media workers received life sentences over that alleged involvement in a twenty sixteen coup attempt. Germanys defense minister. Has criticized u. S. President donald trump
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