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Cover Story
Print Edition> Cover Story
UPDATED: March 24, 2014 NO. 13 MARCH 27, 2014
In the Footsteps of History
A proposed economic belt along the ancient Silk Road aims to lift regional economies, notwithstanding the many obstacles in its path
By Zhou Xiaoyan
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In 2010, a special economic zone was established in Kashgar of Xinjiang, acting as a trade center for the region and neighboring countries, including Pakistan and Kazakhstan. A twin-towered five-star hotel and duty-free shopping area are under construction in the zone.

In 2012, a free trade zone was established in Horgos of Xinjiang, which is on the China-Kazakhstan border. It provides cross-border trade tariff exemptions for Chinese companies and duty-free shopping for visitors.

Roadblocks

A major challenge to the proposed belt is that those Chinese cities along the belt are underdeveloped, which require hefty input in terms of infrastructure construction.

"Those areas are less developed and have very low population density. It requires long-term and heavy investment to form a complete economic belt," said Yang Shu, Director of Institute for Central Asian Studies at Lanzhou University in Gansu.

"It would take at least several decades to change conditions in those regions. There is no quick solution to the problem," said Yang.

"Regions along the Silk Road are all very excited about the proposal because they want to get as much government-earmarked funds as possible," Yang said. "Some of them even bring up quite unpractical ideas. This should be opposed."

Li Hanlin, Director of the Economic and Social Development Research Institute under the Gansu Provincial Party School, said some of the regions concerned are overly optimistic and often underestimate the possible challenges.

"Everyone wants to grab a piece of the pie but they don't know how to eat or digest the pie," he said. "Some of them set unrealistic targets that are almost impossible to meet."

Wang Yang, Vice Governor of Qinghai, said China should form an economic and trade community as soon as possible, which can greatly increase China's negotiation ability and help form a reasonable industrial division within the country.

"The establishment of such an economic belt is, at its essence, for cooperation between cities. The competitiveness of those cities should be improved so that better cooperation can be realized," said Wang. "Right now, they are like scattered pearls. A string is needed to make them a sparkling necklace."

Chen Yurong, a research fellow with the China Institute of International Studies, said regional stability is key to economic development.

Religious extremist, terrorism and drug issues are three major challenges facing central Asia. Also, political upheaval in western Asia and northern Africa is affecting the Eurasian continent on a constant basis, he said.

"Due to serious security conditions in central Asia, complicated political and economic conditions and competition between major powers over their impact on the region, the construction of such a belt is bound to be a tough long-term task," said Chen.

Email us at: zhouxiaoyan@bjreview.com

Ancient Silk Road

The Silk Road, or Silk Route, is a series of trade and cultural transmission routes that were central to economic and cultural interaction throughout regions of the Asian continent. It connected the West and East by linking traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks and soldiers from China to the Mediterranean Sea during various periods of time.

Extending 7,000 km, the Silk Road gets its name from the lucrative trade of Chinese silk which was carried out along its length, and began during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220).

Over 2,100 years ago, Zhang Qian (about 164-114 B.C.), the Han Dynasty envoy, expanded the trade routes to central Asia. Since then, commodities including silk, tea and chinaware have been transported from Chang'an (today's Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province) to central Asia, west Asia and even Europe via the trade route and commodities from these destinations also found their way back to China.

Trade on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the civilizations of China, the Indian subcontinent, Persia, Europe and Arabia. It opened long-distance political and economic interactions between the civilizations. Though silk was certainly the major trade item from China, many other goods were traded, and various technologies, religions and philosophies were shared. In addition to economic trade, the Silk Road served as a means of cultural trade between the networking civilizations.

After the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), China's political center was shifted to the northern part and its economic center was shifted to the eastern coast and southern areas. Shipping became the top choice for commodity transport and the Silk Road was later gradually abandoned.

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