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Around 2，150 years ago， a brave diplomat of the West Han Dynasty （202 B.C.-A.D. 8） named Zhang Qian embarked on an adventure to exploit a new passageway linking the capital of West Han， today’s Xi’an of Shaanxi Province， with scattered tribes in today’s Central Asia. His mission was completed after 22 years of persistent efforts. The tough journey was commemorated with a beautiful name： the Silk Road. In the following centuries， the road not only served as a business passage that brought fortune to countries along the route， but also boosted cultural and friendly communication among them in an increasingly connected world.
Today， China and its Central Asian neighbors agree to strengthen cooperation to resume prosperity of the region， as a peaceful，stable and prosperous neighborhood is the common aspiration of the region.
An economic belt
Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a journey in early September to four Central Asian states， Turkmenistan， Uzbekistan， Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. During his visits， the Chinese president and his Central Asian counterparts reached a consensus to strengthen their partnership in various fields such as economy， politics， culture and security. Xi stated China’s Central Asian policy and suggested that China and Central Asia should join hands to build a Silk Road economic belt to boost cooperation.
“A new Silk Road economic belt is on the rise again，” said Sun Zhuangzhi， an expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences （CASS）. He pointed out that owning a total population of 3 billion and an unparalleled market both in scale and potential， the proposed economic belt will advance growth in countries in Eurasia， which have highly complementary economies and huge potential in resources， market and technology， providing vigorous momentum for development and cooperation to the benefit of the region and even the world.
Xi proposed for the first time the joint establishment of a “Silk Road economic belt” to boost cooperation between China and Eurasian countries on September 8 in a speech delivered at Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University in Astana.
Xi suggested that relevant countries enhance communication and green-light regional economic integration in terms of both policy and law， while working together to formulate plans and measures for regional cooperation.
The Chinese president said that they should work to improve traffic connectivity so as to open the strategic regional thoroughfare from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea， gradually move toward the set-up of a network of transportation that connects Eastern， Western and Southern Asia， explore ways to facilitate trade and investment， promote local-currency settlement so as to improve their immunity to financial risks and their global competitiveness and strengthen friendly people-to-people exchanges. Xi proposed that mutual understanding and traditional friendship be promoted among the countries in the region. The grand regional cooperation structure， Xi believed， can be set up through “strengthening policy communication， road connections， trade facilitation， currency circulation and heart connection.”
Sun stressed the importance of traffic connectivity in the region. “With improved traffic connectivity in the region， economic communication among Eurasian countries will be more active and pluralistic. Their cooperation will expand from previous labor， energy， and mineral products to technological， investment， financial and service aspects， which will create great dynamism for the world economy，” said Sun.
China has realized an average annual increase of 30.8 percent in trade with central， western and southern Asian countries over the past decade. The proposed economic belt will add fresh impetus to China’s campaign to develop its western region and will bring an additional source of growth in its foreign trade and investment. Sun said regional cooperation will spur economic growth in related countries， boost their employment and improve livelihoods.
Historically， the Silk Road served as a bond linking the Chinese， Islamic， Slavic， Indian and Persian civilizations. It is believed that the economic belt will revive business along the Silk Road， strengthen economic ties and advance cooperation among countries along the ancient trade route， said Sun. He believed that traffic corridors established across the Central Asian region will boost trade between developed West Europe and fast-growing East Asia， link Central Asia with Europe and China， and attract more investment to the region to advance its economic development， he said.
Professor Zhou Qiren from Peking University pointed out that the world economic recovery is still slow and full of risks. Developed economies such as the United States and Eurozone members are facing various difficulties. Meanwhile， emerging economies like China maintain relatively stable development. Developing countries， especially emerging economies， have registered a 2-3 percentage points higher growth rate than that of developed economies. “Their market scale is tremendous， and their potential is unlimited，”Zhou said.
The current trend of world economic integration also provides an opportunity to revive the Silk Road. The call for greater regional cooperation will upgrade the integration and restructuring of Eurasian economies.
The Silk Road was more than a trade route. As a passage linking the Eurasian continents， it contained huge cultural political， economic and cultural values. Today， the ancient passage still carries extraordinary geopolitical and strategic advantages， said Xing Guangcheng， a researcher on Eurasian studies at the CASS. China and Central Asian countries have shared interests and destiny， and they both are at a key stage of development. Today， Central Asian countries are concentrating on economic development to realize national revival. They are actively attracting foreign investment， especially from China， hoping to have access to the huge Chinese market and share profits from China’s rapid economic expansion. China， which is implementing its strategy of developing the western part of the country， is willing to promote cooperation with Central Asian countries to establish a stable and prosperous neighborhood in its west. Moreover， their cooperation will bring the two continents closer—if the land passage between China and Europe is completed， the shipping time between the two will be cut by 80 percent.
Closer ties
Promoted cooperation will realize a win-win result between China and Central Asia. And Xi’s Central Asian trip is an important part of China’s diplomatic strategy， observers believed.
Jia Xiudong， a researcher on international political studies with the China Institute of International Studies， stressed that Xi’s recent visit makes a golden decade of China-Central Asian relations possible. “Regional peace， stability and development concerns China’s core interests， and is significant to China’s national development， national security and diplomatic strategy，” said Jia， adding that Xi’s visit will help promote China’s relationship with Central Asia in the coming years.
Yao Peisheng， former Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan， concluded that Xi had fulfilled the goal of his visit： strengthening mutual trust with Central Asian countries， promoting cooperation in specific areas and declaring China’s policy on regional issues.
The CASS released a report on Central Asia’s development， suggesting China should plot out a clear Central Asia strategy as soon as possible. In 2012， total trade value between China and Central Asia hit a new record of $40 billion. In recent years， China’s economic， financial， investment， energy and environmental protection cooperation with Central Asia has been on a continuous rise. Moreover， China provided 560 million yuan （$88.89 million） to Central Asian countries in 2012.
The report said that China will not intervene in Central Asia’s internal affairs. But China can set a good development sample for troubled countries in the region by designing a clear and sustainable policy concerning Central Asia. The report warns that if conflict between Central Asian countries sharpens， it will affect China’s economic growth as well. The Chinese president promised China respects the development paths and policies chosen by the peoples of regional countries， and will never interfere in their domestic affairs.
China will never seek a dominant role in regional affairs， nor try to nurture a sphere of influence， he added， saying that China and Central Asian nations should be genuine friends of mutual support and trust.
He also called on all sides to support each other on issues concerning sovereignty， ter- ritorial integrity， security and other important matters， and jointly crack down on the “three evil forces” of terrorism， extremism and separatism， as well as drug-trafficking and transnational organized crimes.
Shen Jiru， a senior research fellow at the CASS agreed that Xi’s Central Asian trip will comprehensively strengthen China’s cooperation with the four countries， especially in political， economic， energy， and cultural aspects.“Developing a relationship with Central Asia will help China combat various risks coming from its west frontier，” Shen stressed.
Promoted cooperation between China and Central Asia will also help ensure stability through development in the region， where terrorism， extremism and separatism have a strong presence. Consensus is reached to build a harmonious region featuring lasting peace and common prosperity， said Sun.
According to a CASS report released on September 11， Central Asia is still under high pressure of anti-terror. Except for the “three evil forces，” widening social gaps， poverty and drug trafficking are threatening regional stability. The report pointed out that there are at least 90 tons of drugs transported from Afghanistan to Russia and Central Asia， and more than 10 million drug addicts in Central Asia are using drugs from Afghanistan. Besides， during the U.S. troop’s pulling out from Afghanistan， about 70 percent of their supplies need to be transported back home via Central Asia， which has attracted great attention of terrorists and religious extremists.
Though thousands of years have passed， people in the region still have the same dream of peace， stability and prosperity. With common efforts of different countries in the region， the ancient Silk Road will become a golden corridor linking Eurasian continents today， benefiting people along the way.
Today， China and its Central Asian neighbors agree to strengthen cooperation to resume prosperity of the region， as a peaceful，stable and prosperous neighborhood is the common aspiration of the region.
An economic belt
Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a journey in early September to four Central Asian states， Turkmenistan， Uzbekistan， Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. During his visits， the Chinese president and his Central Asian counterparts reached a consensus to strengthen their partnership in various fields such as economy， politics， culture and security. Xi stated China’s Central Asian policy and suggested that China and Central Asia should join hands to build a Silk Road economic belt to boost cooperation.
“A new Silk Road economic belt is on the rise again，” said Sun Zhuangzhi， an expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences （CASS）. He pointed out that owning a total population of 3 billion and an unparalleled market both in scale and potential， the proposed economic belt will advance growth in countries in Eurasia， which have highly complementary economies and huge potential in resources， market and technology， providing vigorous momentum for development and cooperation to the benefit of the region and even the world.
Xi proposed for the first time the joint establishment of a “Silk Road economic belt” to boost cooperation between China and Eurasian countries on September 8 in a speech delivered at Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University in Astana.
Xi suggested that relevant countries enhance communication and green-light regional economic integration in terms of both policy and law， while working together to formulate plans and measures for regional cooperation.
The Chinese president said that they should work to improve traffic connectivity so as to open the strategic regional thoroughfare from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea， gradually move toward the set-up of a network of transportation that connects Eastern， Western and Southern Asia， explore ways to facilitate trade and investment， promote local-currency settlement so as to improve their immunity to financial risks and their global competitiveness and strengthen friendly people-to-people exchanges. Xi proposed that mutual understanding and traditional friendship be promoted among the countries in the region. The grand regional cooperation structure， Xi believed， can be set up through “strengthening policy communication， road connections， trade facilitation， currency circulation and heart connection.”
Sun stressed the importance of traffic connectivity in the region. “With improved traffic connectivity in the region， economic communication among Eurasian countries will be more active and pluralistic. Their cooperation will expand from previous labor， energy， and mineral products to technological， investment， financial and service aspects， which will create great dynamism for the world economy，” said Sun.
China has realized an average annual increase of 30.8 percent in trade with central， western and southern Asian countries over the past decade. The proposed economic belt will add fresh impetus to China’s campaign to develop its western region and will bring an additional source of growth in its foreign trade and investment. Sun said regional cooperation will spur economic growth in related countries， boost their employment and improve livelihoods.
Historically， the Silk Road served as a bond linking the Chinese， Islamic， Slavic， Indian and Persian civilizations. It is believed that the economic belt will revive business along the Silk Road， strengthen economic ties and advance cooperation among countries along the ancient trade route， said Sun. He believed that traffic corridors established across the Central Asian region will boost trade between developed West Europe and fast-growing East Asia， link Central Asia with Europe and China， and attract more investment to the region to advance its economic development， he said.
Professor Zhou Qiren from Peking University pointed out that the world economic recovery is still slow and full of risks. Developed economies such as the United States and Eurozone members are facing various difficulties. Meanwhile， emerging economies like China maintain relatively stable development. Developing countries， especially emerging economies， have registered a 2-3 percentage points higher growth rate than that of developed economies. “Their market scale is tremendous， and their potential is unlimited，”Zhou said.
The current trend of world economic integration also provides an opportunity to revive the Silk Road. The call for greater regional cooperation will upgrade the integration and restructuring of Eurasian economies.
The Silk Road was more than a trade route. As a passage linking the Eurasian continents， it contained huge cultural political， economic and cultural values. Today， the ancient passage still carries extraordinary geopolitical and strategic advantages， said Xing Guangcheng， a researcher on Eurasian studies at the CASS. China and Central Asian countries have shared interests and destiny， and they both are at a key stage of development. Today， Central Asian countries are concentrating on economic development to realize national revival. They are actively attracting foreign investment， especially from China， hoping to have access to the huge Chinese market and share profits from China’s rapid economic expansion. China， which is implementing its strategy of developing the western part of the country， is willing to promote cooperation with Central Asian countries to establish a stable and prosperous neighborhood in its west. Moreover， their cooperation will bring the two continents closer—if the land passage between China and Europe is completed， the shipping time between the two will be cut by 80 percent.
Closer ties
Promoted cooperation will realize a win-win result between China and Central Asia. And Xi’s Central Asian trip is an important part of China’s diplomatic strategy， observers believed.
Jia Xiudong， a researcher on international political studies with the China Institute of International Studies， stressed that Xi’s recent visit makes a golden decade of China-Central Asian relations possible. “Regional peace， stability and development concerns China’s core interests， and is significant to China’s national development， national security and diplomatic strategy，” said Jia， adding that Xi’s visit will help promote China’s relationship with Central Asia in the coming years.
Yao Peisheng， former Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan， concluded that Xi had fulfilled the goal of his visit： strengthening mutual trust with Central Asian countries， promoting cooperation in specific areas and declaring China’s policy on regional issues.
The CASS released a report on Central Asia’s development， suggesting China should plot out a clear Central Asia strategy as soon as possible. In 2012， total trade value between China and Central Asia hit a new record of $40 billion. In recent years， China’s economic， financial， investment， energy and environmental protection cooperation with Central Asia has been on a continuous rise. Moreover， China provided 560 million yuan （$88.89 million） to Central Asian countries in 2012.
The report said that China will not intervene in Central Asia’s internal affairs. But China can set a good development sample for troubled countries in the region by designing a clear and sustainable policy concerning Central Asia. The report warns that if conflict between Central Asian countries sharpens， it will affect China’s economic growth as well. The Chinese president promised China respects the development paths and policies chosen by the peoples of regional countries， and will never interfere in their domestic affairs.
China will never seek a dominant role in regional affairs， nor try to nurture a sphere of influence， he added， saying that China and Central Asian nations should be genuine friends of mutual support and trust.
He also called on all sides to support each other on issues concerning sovereignty， ter- ritorial integrity， security and other important matters， and jointly crack down on the “three evil forces” of terrorism， extremism and separatism， as well as drug-trafficking and transnational organized crimes.
Shen Jiru， a senior research fellow at the CASS agreed that Xi’s Central Asian trip will comprehensively strengthen China’s cooperation with the four countries， especially in political， economic， energy， and cultural aspects.“Developing a relationship with Central Asia will help China combat various risks coming from its west frontier，” Shen stressed.
Promoted cooperation between China and Central Asia will also help ensure stability through development in the region， where terrorism， extremism and separatism have a strong presence. Consensus is reached to build a harmonious region featuring lasting peace and common prosperity， said Sun.
According to a CASS report released on September 11， Central Asia is still under high pressure of anti-terror. Except for the “three evil forces，” widening social gaps， poverty and drug trafficking are threatening regional stability. The report pointed out that there are at least 90 tons of drugs transported from Afghanistan to Russia and Central Asia， and more than 10 million drug addicts in Central Asia are using drugs from Afghanistan. Besides， during the U.S. troop’s pulling out from Afghanistan， about 70 percent of their supplies need to be transported back home via Central Asia， which has attracted great attention of terrorists and religious extremists.
Though thousands of years have passed， people in the region still have the same dream of peace， stability and prosperity. With common efforts of different countries in the region， the ancient Silk Road will become a golden corridor linking Eurasian continents today， benefiting people along the way.