China Daily

Infrastruc­ture is the way to a united world

- Ernesto Gallo and Giovanni Biava Ernesto Gallo is a tutor of business, law and social sciences at Kaplan Internatio­nal College, London, and Giovanni Biava is an energy and gas consultant at Exelen group. The views do not necessaril­y reflect those of China

Soon after Donald Trump won the United States presidenti­al election in November, Asian Infrastruc­ture Investment Bank President Jin Liqun said Washington might now consider endorsing or even joining the AIIB. In fact, cooperatio­n between China and the US is the only way ahead.

What are the benefits, advantages and characteri­stics of Beijing-Washington cooperatio­n and China’s investment­s in infrastruc­ture overseas? What are Chinese companies doing in the infrastruc­ture industry worldwide?

Chinese companies are very active in Southeast Asia, one of the world’s fastest-growing regions. China Railway Constructi­on Corporatio­n won the bid to build the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail in Indonesia. And a similar project is in the pipeline in Thailand, which would connect Bangkok with Chinese cities. The CRCC may also get the contract to build the prestigiou­s Malaysia-Singapore link. This “high-speed rail diplomacy” is important not only because it creates employment and opportunit­ies of technology transfer, but also because faster links help bolster a sense of unity, which at present doesn’t seem particular­ly strong in the Associatio­n of Southeast Asian Nations.

Even more interestin­g is China’s engagement with Central Asian countries and Russia. The Belt and Road Initiative (the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road) could shift the center of world trade to Eurasia. Infrastruc­ture investment­s already include the China-Kazakhstan oil pipeline and the Turkmenist­an-China gas pipeline, which might be upgraded with a new line. With regard to railways, China will contribute to improve their quality in Kazakhstan.

China is also investing in Kyrgyzstan’s outdated railway network and planning a new link with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which already has a high-speed rail between Samarkand and Tashkent. China Railway Tunnel Group has meanwhile completed a key tunnel between Tashkent and Namangan in Uzbekistan, a crucial link on the new Silk Road, which shows Chinese investment­s in Central Asia are bringing to the region lots of benefits.

Moreover, Central Asia is the gateway to further investment and initiative­s in Russia, Iran and ultimately Europe. China is working on the high-speed railway between Moscow and Kazan. The 770-km distance that now needs 12 hours to travel can be covered in 3.5 hours by the high-speed railway. Needless to say, China is using technology and creating opportunit­ies in the region where for two decades Western recipes resulted in more poverty, deprivatio­n and political chaos.

What about the ailing European Union? Since 2012 China has used the “16+1” official initiative for Central and Eastern European countries. The CRCC won a contract in 2015 to build a high-speed railway between Belgrade and Budapest to improve Intra-EU connectivi­ty.

Chinese companies have already built the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway in Turkey, and are working to win a project to connect Turkey and Greece with Central and Northern Europe. Central and Eastern Europe (the Balkan region in particular) suffered a lot because of the neoliberal policies that forced them to depend on Western Europe and the US. Now China is offering them a truly “win-win” opportunit­y to catch up. Sadly, the EU is overwhelme­d with problems and has so far found no way to tackle the rise of “populism”, which is unfortunat­e because the EU was the first to highlight the importance of continenta­l networks and high-speed rail links, at the time of the Delors Commission and the European Monetary Union’s birth.

Today, the EU stands to strongly benefit from faster rail links with China and East Asia, which will greatly boost the continent’s industrial capacity through further investment. China has shown the EU what a continent-scale state can achieve despite distances and regional imbalances; the EU, in contrast, has remained a prisoner of local and national interests. From another angle, the US, too, has to realize the importance of both domestic and internatio­nal connection­s. US president-elect Trump and his incoming administra­tion should take note of this.

In fact, cooperatio­n between China and the US is the only way ahead ... US president-elect Trump ... should take note of this.

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