Round The World
New Delhi, 25 May 2017
New Silk Road
CHINA’S GLOBAL AMBITION
By Dr.S.Saraswathi
(Former Director, ICSSR, New Delhi)
China is trying to assume leadership of
globalization by taking big initiatives involving many countries in different
continents on huge never heard of expenditure. Whereby, Chinese President Xi Jinxing
has emerged as the champion of global free trade in his keynote address at the
first Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation held in Beijing recently. The Forum was attended by 29 leaders and over
100 delegations worldwide where India’s
absence made global news.
Among the participants were UN
Secretary General, IMF Chief, World Bank President signifying the international
importance of the event. The US
too seemed to be impressed by this extraordinary initiative by China and is watching
its progress.
Notably, the BRF represents the New Silk Route
connecting Far Eastern and West European countries through land, sea, air and
satellite communications. Dubbed the New
Silk Road it intends keeping alive the historic importance of the ancient Silk
Road and underscore China’s
transcontinental leadership.
Recall, the original Silk Road was a
network of trade routes formally established during China’s Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220CE)
which linked various regions of the ancient world via trade. It had a political
beginning conceived as a diplomatic move to form alliances against traditional
Chinese enemies --- Xiangnu. But instead, developed as a commercial venture to
promote international trade.
The original Silk
Road was not one road but comprised many routes by land and
water. It started from the present
Korean peninsula and Japan
and went up to the Mediterranean Sea and had four corridors through India. Trade
was carried on in various goods but the road was called the Silk
Road because of the popularity and demand for Chinese Silk in the
entire route. Trade between the East and the West was officially opened by the
Hans in 130 BCE.
Pertinently, the term “Silk Road” was coined by a German traveller and
geographer Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen in 1877 CE. However, the road and
trade declined when the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) boycotted trade with the
West. The routes were closed after the end of World War I and the dismantling
of the Ottoman Empire which allied with Germany in the War.
Importantly, the Silk
Road served a variety of purposes besides trade like providing
diplomatic ties, cultural contacts and facilitating religious tours. In India,
UNESCO has found 12 sites of the ancient Silk Road across seven States: Bihar,
J&K, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Punjab,
Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh and are declared World Heritage Sites.
In fact, the idea of reviving the Silk Road was mooted by Chinese President Xi Jinxing in
2013 for promoting international trade. Under the project, called the New Silk
Road, Beijing provides support for construction of infrastructure, communications
and transport network connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa. The object
is to establish the world’s largest platform for economic cooperation.
Significantly, rail projects are being
given priority under the project wherein some 5,000 annual train links with Europe are expected to be completed by the year 2020.
Also on the anvil are various types of projects like a tunnel in Uzbekistan, port in Bangladesh,
refinery in Saudi Arabia,
power lines, oil and gas pipelines, electricity and telecommunications
connectivity etc in many participating countries which are essential for trade
and commerce.
Further, despite its exit from the
European Union, Britain has shown an interest in the New Silk Road by accepting
construction of an inter-connecting tunnel under the North Channel between
Scotland and Northern Ireland directly at the centre of the two great trading
routes – New Silk Route via the Channel Tunnel and the Transatlantic Route via
the ports of Northern Ireland.
Consequently, with China’s expansionist ambitions visible in
several moves in India’s neighborhood,
it is but natural for New Delhi
to be cautious in its reaction to the New Silk Road. Its fears stem from a possible strategic
encirclement by a “string of pearls” around the Indian Ocean and on land as
China is financing and building ports, railway lines, power stations and
highways in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Certainly, these cannot be
ridiculed as far fetched. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor planned to run
through Pak occupied Kashmir adds to India’s worries.
Undeniably, the project cannot be
viewed as a purely economic corridor for the benefit of all the users. It is
likely to be of used for non-economic movements also.
Additionally, China has plans to cover Latin
America also in a different way. The Ecuadorean hydro-electric
power station and Coca Coda Sinclair have been inaugurated by Beijing recently.
Clearly, the impact of the New Silk Road
has to be assessed in the context of growing voices in many countries against
globalization and flagrant violations of global rules by many players when their national interests are
affected. Britain’s
exit from the EU and Trump Administration’s support for protectionism in US to
“buy America” and “hire
Americans” are against the backdrop of this magnum opus venture for free trade
from China.
Beijing’s ambition to become the champion
of globalization and its President’s appeal to world leaders to give up
protectionism therefore, need cautious handling. Asian nations have to weigh
their options and must examine whether the projects will promote their exports
as much as their imports from China.
The New Silk Road is not a project of a neutral international organization like
the UNO.
Undoubtedly, China’s moves to enter and spread over
territories of several South-Asian countries like Philippines
and Viet Nam
and incursions into Arunachal Pradesh remain the backdrop in which
international networks are being built for common purposes. Beijing’s moves in the Indian Ocean Region
cannot be regarded as friendly gestures by other concerned countries.
One thing that is certain is that
poor countries will find it difficult to repay the debt they incur in having
projects much beyond their financial strength. The “debt trap” awaiting many countries entering into
massive infrastructure projects is not an imaginary bogey, but something that
will not only falsify the benefits of a global
market but will curtail their freedom and sovereignty in future. Debt is like a
mouse trap that has no escape doors.
Clever creditors do not put down
their conditions initially but show their true colours once the victim is
trapped and become voiceless and weak. It is common knowledge that no loans are
available without strings attached. Economic dependency will pave way for
political submission. India will do
well to go within its capacities and not nurture ambitions for overnight growth
through grandiose plans.
In sum, credibility, genuine global
interests and faith in goodwill and co-existence are necessary for lasting
international friendship. In the world today, geo-politics and geo-economics
are intertwined. Every country has to take care of both aspects and cannot
afford to lose one for the sake of the other.
India’s reservations about the Silk Road are on solid ground. It has to take only
measured steps though it might betray skepticism and some amount of nervousness
over the political and economic dominance exhibited by China in Asia with extension to Europe. Certainly, the New Silk Road represents Beijing’s global
ambition. ---- INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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