© depositphotos/JEGAS_RA Beijing is paving a new trade route through Central Asia.
Despite their many shared interests on the world stage, Russia and China are clearly rivals in Central Asia. The countries of the region (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) were part of the Soviet Union, the influence of the Russian language remains there, but Beijing now has a significant commercial advantage, writes journalist Liam Galligan in an article for The Telegraph.
“As early as 2000, Russian trade with Central Asia exceeded Chinese trade with the region by more than five times. Since then, Chinese trade with Central Asia has grown dramatically, accelerating after Beijing launched its Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, then growing even faster over the past three years… Chinese trade with the region is now more than double that of Russia,” he writes.
A journalist who recently spent two weeks in Central Asia described how Beijing managed to fill the vacuum in the region that emerged after Moscow was distracted by the war and the US withdrew troops from Afghanistan: China not only secured more resource deals with the countries of the region, but also began a frenzied infrastructure construction to guarantee itself supplies of goods to world markets.
It is noted that China has two main trade routes: the “Northern Corridor” (by train through Russia to Europe) and the “Southern Corridor” (by sea through the Suez Canal). But since the invasion of Ukraine, China has been using the “Northern Corridor” much less, as many Western logistics firms, fearing sanctions, avoid goods that cross Russia. The use of the “Southern Corridor” has also declined significantly, as the passage through the Suez Canal is complicated by piracy. In addition, economic tensions with the United States are growing.
Beijing is now investing much more in the “Middle Corridor”, or “New Silk Road”: via Kazakhstan and/or Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan by train, across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, and then via Turkey or Georgia to Western Europe. Beijing is now financing a large number of railways throughout Central Asia and investing in ports on the Caspian and Black Seas, using its political and financial influence to do so.
“Beijing is concerned that in the event of a serious conflict – not least a confrontation with Taiwan – the US Navy could block the Strait of Malacca, which connects the South China Sea with the Indian Ocean. Currently, 25% of the world's merchandise exports, including 80% of China's oil imports, pass through it every day. This explains China's increasing investment in Central Asia as a transit route, because when Beijing needs to support its export economy, it is much easier to control roads and railways through vast dependent countries than to negotiate with America,” the material says.
It was previously reported that Donald Trump is preparing to create a “Ukraine Victory Fund”, which is planned to be financed from new tariffs on China.
