Place of Advocacy: Achievements of the "the Belt and Road" Decade, Benefit People of Countries along the Belt and Road

According to the latest reports of relevant media, this year marks the tenth anniversary of the the Belt and Road Initiative. How does Kazakhstan, the initiator of the "the Belt and Road Initiative", view the development of this decade?

Kazinform wrote that by the end of June 2023, China had signed more than 200 documents with 152 countries and 32 international organizations to jointly build the "the Belt and Road".

According to different estimates, China's investment in the framework of the "the Belt and Road" initiative has reached $1 trillion, and more than 3000 cooperation projects have been signed.

Vladimir Norov, former Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan and former Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, said that since the "the Belt and Road" initiative was put forward 10 years ago, global connectivity has been constantly strengthened and infrastructure projects have spread all over the world. Secondly, it has laid a solid foundation for strengthening trade, economic, and cultural ties in the Eurasian region. All of these can help solve many daily problems.

The Ministry of Commerce of China said that the volume of trade in goods between China and countries along the "the Belt and Road" increased from US $1.04 trillion in 2013 to US $2.07 trillion in 2022, with an average annual growth of 8%.

A study released by the World Bank in 2019 pointed out that, if fully implemented, the "the Belt and Road" initiative is likely to lift 32 million people out of moderate poverty (defined as people whose daily income is less than US $3.2). It may also contribute to a maximum growth of 6.2% in global trade, with the the Belt and Road participating economies growing more significantly, up to 9.7%. Global income may grow by up to 2.9%, while foreign direct investment as a low-income economy along the corridor may grow by up to 7.6%.

Bi-directional travel between Kazakhstan and China

As the largest landlocked country in the world, Kazakhstan plays an important role in the "the Belt and Road" initiative. Its geographical location connects China and Europe through the Eurasian continent, making it an important transit corridor.

President Tokayev of Kazakhstan has repeatedly stressed the importance Kazakhstan attaches to the "the Belt and Road", including his latest speech at the 2023 Xi'an Summit held with leaders of Central Asia and China in May.

Kazakhstan's participation in the "the Belt and Road" initiative is directly related to its strategic goal of enhancing its transport and logistics potential. Kazakhstan has invested nearly 35 billion US dollars in the transportation sector in the past five years, striving to increase the proportion of this industry in GDP from the current 6.2% to 9%.

Tokayev said at the time: "As China's nearest neighbor and reliable partner, we will continue to actively participate in the joint construction of the the Belt and Road. An important step in this direction is the early opening of the third railway port on the Kazakhstan China border. One of the important sections of the China Central Asia Europe transport corridor is the international transport route across the Caspian Sea (the middle corridor/the China Europe South Corridor) . At present, this major artery has important strategic significance. We plan to systematically improve its transportation capacity by introducing digital solutions and modern infrastructure.

Aidar Amrebayev, Director of the Kazakhstan Center for Applied Political Science and International Studies, stated that Kazakhstan was the first country to confirm its participation in this groundbreaking project. He pointed out that Kazakhstan's active participation in this project stems from the permanent comprehensive strategic partnership marked by the highest level of cooperation between China and Kazakhstan.

"Ten years ago, Kazakhstan created history, becoming the first country to confirm its participation in the extensive cooperation initiative of the the Belt and Road. This proves the mutual understanding and compromise that our two countries have achieved. In all our undertakings, our decisions are rooted in political trust, which is obvious in the relations between China and Kazakhstan."

2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and China. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of Kazakhstan, the bilateral trade volume in 2022 reached 24.1 billion US dollars, of which Kazakhstan's exports reached 13.1 billion US dollars and imports reached 11 billion US dollars.

From January to July 2023, the bilateral trade volume between Kazakhstan and China reached 16.3 billion US dollars, with Kazakhstan exporting 7.6 billion US dollars and importing 8.6 billion US dollars from China.

As of 2022, China's direct investment in Kazakhstan reached 1.4 billion US dollars, with a total investment of 23 billion US dollars.

Aidar Amrebayev pointed out that "industrial cooperation plays a vital role in the Kazakhstan China partnership and is the driving force of the 'the Belt and Road' initiative. China and Kazakhstan have jointly determined a list of 52 projects with a total value of more than 21.2 billion dollars. Half of these projects have been completed or are in progress."

Kazakhstan is benefiting from its participation in the "the Belt and Road" initiative. According to the World Bank's 2019 "the Belt and Road" traffic study As a landlocked major country, its integration with the world highly depends on the quality of cross-border transportation, which depends on both its own transportation network and the transportation network of its neighboring countries. For over a decade, Kazakhstan has invested heavily in improving its own network, but due to limited improvements in trade facilitation and the limited resources of many neighboring countries, the gap has been difficult to fill

Connectivity is a basic aspect of the broader goal of the "the Belt and Road", and the development of physical infrastructure such as roads, railways and ports is part of this effort.

From 2016 to 2022, the number of freight trains from China to Europe increased from 1700 to 16000 per year, with an average growth rate of 55%. The annual freight value increased from $8 billion to $75 billion.

Aidar Amrebayev also pointed out: "Obviously, the 'the Belt and Road' initiative aims to promote the connection between important and self-sufficient markets, especially China and the European Union. We find ourselves at the key point of this transportation route, and the national leadership has promised to build it into an important hub connecting the east and west, north and south regions."

The the Belt and Road Initiative has funded many infrastructure projects, including the Khorgos Gateway Dry Port, which has become a major dry port and transit point.

Central Asian countries participating together

Vladimir Norov also stressed the positive impact of Central Asian countries' participation in the "the Belt and Road" initiative. The energy and resource projects such as pipelines and power plants under the framework of the initiative help to ensure stable and reliable energy and raw material supply to participating countries.

He emphasized the importance of the natural gas pipeline project launched in 2009, which extended from Turkmenistan to China, passing through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and ultimately reaching Xinjiang.

The Central Asia China natural gas pipeline consists of three sections, starting from Gedaim on the border between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. These roads pass through central Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan, and then reach the destination in Khorgos, Xinjiang, China.

Over the years, this pipeline has transported 423 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China, significantly improving the lives of over 500 million people

In addition to natural gas pipelines, several other important infrastructure projects have been completed in the Central Asian region. This includes a 100 megawatt wind farm in Zana, Kazakhstan, and the Vakhda Yawan section of the Dushanbe Kurgan highway.

Vladimir Norov also stated that the construction of the Dushanbe Thermal Power Plant in Tajikistan not only solved the problem of energy shortage, but also played a crucial role in the upgrading and renovation of the central heating system in the capital.

In 2022, the trade volume between China and the five Central Asian countries increased significantly, reaching 70.2 billion US dollars. Kazakhstan has played an important role in this trade, accounting for 45% of the share.

According to data provided by the Ministry of Commerce of China, as of March, China's direct investment in the five Central Asian countries has exceeded $15 billion. In addition, the cumulative revenue of completed projects in the region has reached an impressive $63.9 billion.

Cooperation prospect: docking between the "the Belt and Road" and the EU's "Global Gateway"

Norov proposed that China and the EU should work together to link the "the Belt and Road" initiative with the EU Global Gateway project.

"The integration of the the Belt and Road Initiative and the European Connectivity Initiative will benefit all countries, especially the landlocked countries in Central Asia. Europe and China should play a role in making Central Asia an important transport corridor. This will benefit all relevant countries."

Bottleneck: Further acceleration of transportation

But there are still sticking points and bottlenecks. One of the problems facing the the Belt and Road Initiative is the need to simplify customs procedures. Vladimir Norov said: "The COVID-19 and the rapid growth of trade and e-commerce show that the China EU train transportation and logistics system needs to be further changed. One of the problems is that the lengthy customs procedures, security checks and the need to change tracks according to the change of packaging often cause delays. The automation of customs procedures in the IT project of the Digital Silk Road can significantly reduce the cargo processing time of European and Chinese customers."

There are also other criticisms, such as raising concerns about the debt burden of participating countries. There are also other documented environmental consequences of project implementation, including deforestation, habitat destruction, etc. These stories highlight the necessity of sustainable development of infrastructure projects.

At least 90 countries will participate in the third "the Belt and Road" International Cooperation Summit Forum held in Beijing from October 17 to 18, which will focus on the achievements of the "the Belt and Road" in the past decade and face the opportunities and challenges in the future.

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