Lakes a town 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. Trucks have replaced the caravans of the past on the newly built highway. The end this project was launched by chinese president xi jinping during a visit to kazakhstan in two thousand and thirteen. Remission only arc of what things are being. Meat. Will cause a lot. Father and. Son jaguar or woman create your own trunk of the most. Hong kong fair shot search whole journal back tricia softly yen for gold why 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. The many 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 then a 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 chong 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 chung xing is chinas largest urban area. Few people in the west have actually heard of chang xing but this mega city on the young sea river is a symbol of the economic boom in the country has been experiencing for the past thirty years. While growth is tapering off in the Major Industrial centers of one show and shenzhen chum xing is proving every day a new that its one of the future engines of chinas economic development. Shown chings 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 can now boast a growth rate in double figures. That our laptops are largely produced in trying to change the one doc company has three factories in china chain with around fifteen thousand employees feel like this factory has three thousand two hundred employees. We mainly produce a select ops the p. D. P. You know is that the laptops you buy in france and germany are all produced a. Body they made that those that you can send. 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 scene 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. Let us hold a change president xi jinping has emphasized the great significance of chongqing for global and Asian Pacific logistics chunking is to become a hub for inland logistics that will be open to the outside to. Follow khalidi. Chunk 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. Many saw it high yes but. At this central freight terminal we send around a thousand contained as every day to other chinese provinces and to other countries. Where response to spill in germany and workers are. Carrying around forty one can say this. I assure you i sound off. The electronic goods loaded onto 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 symbol 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. A wild west of huge expansion and one that was left behind by the Economic Reforms of the past twenty years. The city of lunch joel 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. Those words or look the new. Road will fuel the economy culture and got stronger me the city of leisure will become more attractive as will be improvements of. All 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 the bow in light of the stagnating Economic Growth that official figures say at 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 as. 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 decline since the Global Economic squeeze china has to change its economic model and that means it has to develop its domestic market. 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. Feel that 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. 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 street in madrid in unison china is undergoing a radical shift particularly in the west of the country and inching jang of all the cities being built in the desert are cities with skies great pose that he was there moving. Theres a lot of activity everywhere with lights and even music and caro he vast images are a ward he is of a god i work at this one backs for its a message to the chinese population is to attract people to these remote areas of the earth and a privilege trying to enter. 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 for the two thousand kilometers between lunch show and room she is now at just ten hour. Hours down from forty. Five and that. Was the. 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 root 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 shane jiang more closely to the rest of the country. And it also sends a message to neighboring states because china sees itself as a v. 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 autumn cheat 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 leaders the local Muslim Minority and the han chinese who make up the vast majority of the population in the rest of the country. In the 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. Block beijing believes the two cornerstones of peace and change young are 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. Just such as this model shows what our Economic Zones will look like when the project is complete to teach. 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 signal their interest in our free trade zone iraqis 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 in 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 were missions that course we ended up on chang wind farm inching junk its one of the best wind farms in the world its twenty to thirty kilometers wide and eighty kilometers long should the size of the special thing about this place is its constant wind speed feed. Town been. Its ideal for a wind farm five yet issues of only if i didnt see a reason that. The success of gold wind is a classic example of the chinese economic miracle mu 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 as 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. To lose situation many sources of Renewable Energies along the entire new silk road concession in kazakhstan or pakistan or even turkey which will be on the board a hospice attack. Theres wind and solar energy everywhere in which it was out how to pay on the phone and thats the ensure fatal to. All these locally or 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 a big they have a real Strategic Vision were lacking that in europe. Or. 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. With alcohol at first glance the politics behind the new silk road of the moc of xi jinping when it strengthens his power and his reputation it abuts in the long term it stands for a changing china just what you see debates about those who. Ive been going on in economic circles since two thousand and eleven as you said they are this project will have consequences from far into the future and implementing it will take decades and this doesnt just affect painlessly it affects his successes to actually end them which in his unit also then i just cannot imagine or. Her its another five hundred kilometers from room to the cars a border. The border town of color 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 ging pings proclamation the continuation of the chinese road is easy to imagine. Bell mushy 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 die on wall of 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 back east on i have russia to my right its called guss at the center. Between all of these countries this is where everything is happening. So ill just. Be 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 so if theres any place that symbolizes the meeting of east and west its this one city. That is why the chinese tracks and behind me at. The kazakhs tracks start to my left back them up dont differ 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 biggest among them. Four bulb you could use it off 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 the border was closed thanks to the new infrastructure a lot of passengers and goods will come through here on it on the way to target the core goss is the starting point for a revival of the silk road wanted to settle on its own as it all does for. The new silk road still. Under construction in kazakhstan once 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 cited 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. Does it was years of good bye i have goods from china im heading to almaty ive been travelling since yesterday so now i have a flat tire i know many have to complete this stretch in a day. The chinese side is much better at that time im. Just very much you know the road is very good its well maintained there are no potholes why who is it will improve here to lots of with the 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 its 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 when the highway is open and the old country road will probably be closed there wont be a single vehicle coming through here there i think ill be here another two or three years after that no cars will come through here it will be dead quiet last. Month. 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 im sure some of our president has or by i have signed this contract with china theres already a functioning train a Freight Train that goes to it with just one of the it will come out of there with it transports Raw Materials cars and all kinds of things to many other countries which just must play just what are the few 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 with this what are they really thinking of the future of this with its that theyre going about their business but theyre not pursuing a long term strategy. Of the past. Behind the new silk road that leads to kazakhstans economic capital martine. 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 the new forward physically up with that logic of the generous roads that. The railway lines. For the still new transport options are an advantage to those located on this line in kazakhstan and elsewhere in central asia in this case theyre usually to live a centrally nevertheless its largely a chinese project thats aiming to solve chinas problems that could take a guess the three for chinas constantly trying to find new space for its population. To the kurdish the east of course russia has a lot of empty land but russia is still strong central asia is weaker its the weakest link in the chain. As 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 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 m p c its a pipeline now transports twenty Million Tonnes of cars to the chinese province of sheen junge every year. On up to medicine were going with in 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 Sources linus i mean that if he. Pulls off each china once you go beyond the mere exploitation of resources i think thats why. Has offered an economic and Political Partnership to kazakstan with the concept of the new silk road alcatraz economist bush will call for to. So the new silk road is also an oil road for china in return beijing is building the infrastructure necessary for kazakhstans development. That it is. It is. But in the village of kent 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 in the steps actually go thats 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 came told him not among us and all you can see the state of the road over there is the chinese dont employ anyone from here 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. At that hour 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 would have but there are a few and fewer catholic workers there was in the oil sector as well it was a question of cost as they have the same problem in russia used in the. Usa does lots and and there are jokes on television already that you find more chinese than russians in russias far east as the elites but the more yeah. I think if they come here theyll stay and settle down in you you dont. Want to kazakhstan is responding very negatively but so do several other countries in central asia on the one hand these countries want investors in the other they have their own economic interests they dont want foreigners to only great to shares in their companies then they do powerful use we have to create a win win situation that countries invest in and that allows the population to participate financially to only open borders 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. Snow yes i think i said well see it was here you may decide if this is the year because you can not tell that because you got nothing this was certainly worth the life. I will most of all the hard serious will see us all 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 just be deal with humans we understand everything is being sold but we also see that this money is going into the pockets of a few people at the top of our limit is reached when they take our land because it people will never permit their land to be sold similar although it will of intervention possible. 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 theyre just pawns in a great game. That in fact one of the that you can say the chinese are conquering our country because we live in peace. Theyve been getting oil from a since the late nineties when it was like we have enough oil it was not an help themselves it. Was the problem. But this is not just the chinese who are here. We have french. American british german and italian people here to the whole world im going to. Put. Them up with what you see as expansion depends on the context if youre referring to the globalization of investment and Economic Exchange different than globalization is undoubtedly acceptable clothes but if you take it to mean domination or he gammon a man it isnt that it doesnt fit chinas culture much pull on the lyceum little version. In two thousand and fourteen kazakhstan became a member of the Eurasian Economic Union the free trade zone desired by moscow on the other hand of the chinese have invested twice as much in kazakhstan since that date. Back to bear has become a new outpost for this chinese presence just one hundred kilometers from russia and the border station of jaison. At the moment russias 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 are central asia reach russia they follow a zig zag course in order to avoid the huge post soviet potholes. Built them competent. With its rapid advances. In central asia china is demonstrating its strength to russia that lessens the russian influence in the region with the chinese have used the opening up to capitalism and growth to build Firm Foundations with the infrastructure to see what we still could be these teachers chordal stuff so our economy could look out theres nothing like it in russia nor her custom that wont change anytime soon because theres no money left to lose or she would be genuinely 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 oren born. 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. Is that each that historically speaking the ural has always formed a natural border because this is just the big rather look at india as yes q in the post caravans coming from asia always paused here in the couple of the river was a barrier in the book. Schedule. Today the chinese efforts once again seem to come to a halt at the symbolic border. From here the project of the new silk road depends on moscows goodwill but does putins russia even want it. Watered down to doing but im skeptical about the relationship between china and russia 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 also mental work of course china and russia are cooperating on military to raise for geopolitical reasons. But the new silk road has little support in russia because russia has its own eurasian project and with the show has a house with only on its your father and you they see. The whole style and for putin as for stalin before him military strength is the primary factor but thats just not enough in todays world and if acutely you need an efficient Economy Technology science which is putins russia has none of that. Stand in his back and stand are already turning towards china while trying to maintain a balance but russias all talk with it was golden china has the money all russia has is memories laureus past was in the navy cockleshell. 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 that its easier will be our future because china are there and other european are other underside great developing their interference our life our culture our wealth and thats why its 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 pings project. How can the europe 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. Above. My song turning sixty. Every journey begins with the first step and every language but the first word published in the. Eco is in germany to learn german why not learned helplessness simple online on your mobile and free themselves from d w z learning course nico speak german meaning. European stocks deliver runs in performance of the big. Three the body of concerts every weekend cut good in concert a long delayed. Freedom of expression. A value that always has to be defended and new. All over the world. Are to a Freedom Freedom of art. A multimedia project about artists and their right to express their views freely. D w dot com part of freedom. The International Red cross has welcomed for russian president Vladimir Putins order for a daily five hour ceasefire so that civilians can leave syrias eastern city of gota over the past week syrias army and its allies have put the rebel held on clay under heavy bombardment killing hundreds maybe while the russians have denied allegations that Syrian Forces used chlorine gas shells in their attack. Us President Donald Trump has suffered a setback
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