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May 19, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 4
state of 29 countries, among them Russian Presi- dent Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Er- dogan and the leaders of several Central Asian countries, as well as four prime ministers and one president from the EU member states. Alongside the politicians were the heads of the UN, IMF and World Bank.
There were also some of China’s more controver- sial friends – a delegation from North Korea (the state which earlier the same day embarrassed Beijing by launching a new ballistic missile test), and Rodrigo Duterte, who is leading a murderous ‘war on drugs’ in the Philippines.
On the other hand, there were some notable absentees, in particular China’s neighbours India and Japan, which have been wary of a project set to enhance East Asia’s rising superpower. India
in particular had been angered by the planned China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a $55bn project that will run through the disputed province of Kashmir. Australia, another far eastern rival
of China’s was present but reserved, with Trade Minister Steven Ciobo stressing that Canberra would act in line with Australia’s national interest despite seeing “much merit” in the Chinese initiative.
Yet countries in the region that are benefitting from Chinese investment – from Central Asia to East Africa – have become staunch supporters of the giant project.
China’s backyard
The concept of the overland new Silk Road
was first broached by Xi during a visit to the Ka- zakh capital Astana back in 2013, part of a Cen- tral Asian tour during which China also signed multi-billion dollar transport and pipeline deals in the region. This highlighted the importance of the landlocked region on China’s back doorstep as a key node in the Chinese land route to Europe – just like in the old Silk Road days. (The following month the Maritime Silk Road was announced in Indonesia.)
In the three and a half years since then, Central Asia has continue to hold a central role in the ini- tiative, as reflected on May 14 and in the plans for the coming days.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is actively courting new foreign investments and was in Beijing this week to drum up some investment from China with the intention to sign up to 100 deals and agreements worth $20bn. That includes $5bn in oil and gas industry related deals – the
10 agreements included a $1.2bn pledge by China to invest in the construction of the Shurtan Gas Chemical Plant. Moreover, China agreed to fi- nance the Uzbek hydropower development pro- gramme with $3bn, Uzbek state-run media noted.
Mirziyoyev will be pushing at an open door as China is seeking to ramp up investment in the region. Among the latest projects pursued by China and Uzbekistan, the two sides launched a 123km railway line in 2016. They also launched a train service between the capitals of their capitals along a 5000km railway.
The previous Uzbek president, Islam Karimov, tightened cooperation between China and Uzbeki- stan back in 2014, when the parties signed deals worth $6bn, ranging over trade, a loan for the construction of a natural gas pipeline and other packages. Mirziyoyev’s visit is likely to further the sentiment of cooperation.
Neighbouring Kazakhstan will also become
an important way station of the New Silk Road project. Much of Astana’s new investment pro- gramme is tied to or coordinated with the Chi- nese project. The project will include a deal planned for signing on May 15 between the state-owned Chinese conglomerate COSCO and Kazakhstan's national railway company. The Kazakh side will take a 24% stake in a dry port
in the Khorgos Eastern Gates special economic zone (SEZ), COSCO Chairman Xu Lirong told Re- uters on May 14 during the Belt and Road forum. Khorgos is one of the central hubs for a railway