China presented to the countries of the Eurasian zone a new and fascinating project called the Silk Road Economic Belt. This is not only one of the most ambitious economic projects of recent years, the idea has been very ambitious. The main essence of the proposal is to find mutually beneficial relationships in a strategic perspective. The economic belt of the Great Silk Road is fully consistent with global trends in globalization and should stimulate the rapprochement of the countries of the Eurasian region. The disclosure of the economic potential of each state that will take part in the project is expected.
How did it all start?
The core of the SREB is the SCO organization, which was originally created for the implementation of this particular project. The union was rapidly and rapidly developing. By the time the SCO had exhausted itself a bit, new development paths were needed, the updated level of interaction between the countries became relevant. A large role in this matter belongs to China, since he was the creator of the SCO in 2001 and proposed the project of the path in 2013. The official presentation of the project took place in Kazakhstan on September 7, 2013, during a speech by President of China Xi Jinping with a lecture at one of the universities.
Actual Actions
Already on November 29, the SCO participants actively took up the development of the project. The 13th meeting between the participating countries was held on the territory of Tashkent, where issues related to transport partnership were discussed. It was at this meeting for the first time in history that representatives of both Central and Eastern Europe took part. The result of the negotiations was a 5-year cooperation plan. According to experts, the SREB will be formed by 24 cities from 8 countries. September 26, 2014 at the economic forum in Xi'an, issues of investment partnership were discussed, the task was set to reorient investment flows. With a lack of foreign capital in the West, there is an excessive amount in the Asian region.
Silk globalization: meeting the interests of many countries at the same time
The prospects that the economic belt of the Great Silk Road promises are determined by global trends. Active strengthening of developing countries in the role of "engines" of the global economy against the background of the post-crisis situation. In this particular case, the issue affects the BRICS states. Russia acts as a leader in the Eurasian zone. China has views on the leader in the Asian world. The country expresses a certain interest in the development and stability of Eurasia, and is ready to contribute to the active prosperity of the region. In parallel, other developed countries (America and the EU) are gradually drowning in a crisis and are engaged in the redistribution of zones of influence. Russia and China are slowly working to build up their influence in the region. The economic belt of the Silk Road, according to preliminary estimates, should satisfy the interests of each of the states that lie along it.
The emergence of new leaders and increased cooperation
The project is adapted to the emergence of new world leaders, which leads to the active emergence of innovative centers of economic development. World influence is gradually shifting from the west, which is currently going through difficult times, to an actively prospering east. The world center for economic development is gradually occupying the space between Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific space, which leads to the need to create new partnership strategies. Changing zones of influence, as well as features of world economic prosperity, are forcing many states to integrate their external activities. The issue concerns not only the formation of new economic contacts, it refers to the emergence of new currency unions. In the future, it is they who should help solve the global world problem: the strong influence of the American dollar on the economies of almost all countries of the world.
The construction of the Silk Road
The action plan for the construction of the Silk Road economic belt provides primarily for the construction of new transport routes and the improvement of existing ones. The procedure for registration of the transport network will be implemented using innovative technologies. In the future, a global network of high-speed highways will be part of the path. It is China in recent years that has achieved significant results in this direction, has become the world leader in the field of road construction. Today, Chinese technology is planned to be exported. The project itself was put forward by China, and its implementation will be carried out under the strict guidance of Beijing itself. Highway construction will push infrastructure development. Along the roads, regional centers will begin to appear. Expected expansion of the potential of logistics and tourism, the emergence of a large number of new jobs. All this will lead to diversification and the denationalization of the economy, will become a prerequisite for the development of regions.
No past trends, or Multilateral Highways
The restored Silk Road economic belt will not connect the states of the region only with China and Russia. It is planned to unite the different countries of Eurasia, which will only strengthen cooperation at the regional level. For example, within the framework of the SCO, a corridor has been created for a long time, uniting such countries as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. A similar policy is being pursued in the South Caucasus. It was there that the construction of the Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railway, which has strategic importance, was successfully completed. The Silk Road economic belt will provide transport and infrastructure development that will expand the scope of cooperation in the field of trade. The situation provides certain advantages for China itself, which is known as one of the world's largest manufacturers. The ability to move in different directions will give impetus to the prosperity of the eastern region.
Financial system and more
In accordance with the project, which was presented by China, all mutual settlements between states within the region will be carried out not in dollars, but in national currencies. In the long run, this should ensure political stability and public security. This is crucial for countries in the region that are now struggling with destabilization. The project has good prospects also for the reason that at last the countries will get the opportunity to collaborate again after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the USSR. Contemporaries can observe the progressive movement between states. It plays into the hands of historical, cultural and civilizational similarities between countries.
Documentary side of the issue
On March 28, 2013, documents were officially submitted in which the principles and priority directions, partnership mechanisms within the framework of the SREB project aimed at consolidating ties at the regional level and aimed at promising work for a prosperous future were already structured. The main objectives of the project are to stimulate the flow of economic factors, the allocation of resources and deep market integration by strengthening ties between Asia, Africa and Europe. Each state can make its contribution to the economic belt of the Silk Road. Title documents call for the coordination of political actions, for the development of infrastructure ties, for free trade and for financial integration. China plans to use the advantages of each region separately, systematically increasing the level of openness for deep interaction both domestically and at the international level. China is ready to intensively improve the content and form of the initiative, develop schedules for the implementation of the plan, and create ever new maps of partnership mechanisms with the participating countries. The joint construction action plan was published just three days before the filing of applications for joining the Asian Financial Institute for Infrastructure Investments. It is this credit institution that will finance regional infrastructure projects.
What is the feature of the project?
The Silk Road Economic Belt project, according to its creators, is not based on a geopolitical development strategy. The SREB has no resemblance to the European Union and the Customs Union. The main essence of the idea is the strategic coordination of partners, the relationships between which have been formed over centuries. Paper arrangements within the union are not so important. The economic belt of the new Silk Road does not oblige anyone and does not force integration. The project should become the basis for fruitful cooperation, but not the reason for the emergence of new conflicts. If you look globally, China is ready to implement infrastructure construction and create a new economic reality. China's interest in implementing the idea is based on the desire to develop the western regions of the country and maximize the balance of its own economy.
SREB as a stage of global integration
The Silk Road Economic Belt and the Sea Silk Road are not the result of purely political ambitions. This is a kind of logical continuation of the Chinese reform. The project started long before the moment Xi Jinping officially announced it. The Chinese managed to catch the moment to start a successful regional partnership, without which modern globalization is ineffective. Thanks to the timely strengthening of economic and energy cooperation with Central Asian states, China has become the center of the SREB, while simultaneously strengthening the status of Russia's largest importer.
Economic belt and Russia
It does not cease to consider Russia as the potential direction of the Silk Road economic belt. Cooperation, or rather, its prospects and directions, will be discussed in May 2015. Opportunities for interaction between countries will probably be negotiated between the heads of state in the near future. A statement about a possible meeting came from Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov. Russia, despite the fact that a meeting date has not yet been set, has already announced its participation in the project. The Silk Road economic belt and Russia are not so far, in addition, the state is interested in new opportunities and in new areas of development and investment.
