05-13-2017, 10:10 PM
*** 14-May-17 World View -- China launches 'One Belt One Road', raising objections and violent protests
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** China forum launches the decades-long 'One Belt One Road' project
****
![[Image: g170513b.gif]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g170513b.gif)
China's 'One Belt One Road' project will include overland and maritime trade routes between China and Europe (CNN)
On Sunday, 28 heads of state, 100 lower-level government officials,
and 1,200 delegates from 110 countries will attend China's "One Belt
One Road" (OBOR) forum in Beijing. It is also called the "Belt and
Road Initiative" (BRI) summit.
The romantic appeal behind the Belt and Road project is that it's a
modern day version of the ancient "Silk Road," a collection of trade
routes regularly used between 100 BC to 1400 AD by traders
carrying goods back and forth between China and Europe. The
name comes from the popularity of Chinese silk in the Roman
Empire.
However, as the map above shows, the new Silk Road is not simply
an overland route. The Belt and Road project consists of
two parts:
The OBOR includes infrastructure projects that have already been under
development since the 1990s. China plans to invest hundreds of
billions of dollars over the next 50 years or so to complete the
project.
Whether the project will ever be completed is, of course, open to
doubt. There's already been one large, spectacular failure. In 2009,
China invested $1.2 billion in Sri Lanka's Hambantota seaport. Sri
Lanka had expected to repay the debt through profits earned by the
port, but the slowdown in trade throughout the entire region in the
last few years has meant that Sri Lanka has been unable to repay the
debt, and now China has essentially taken over the port in lieu of
repayment of the debt, resulting in violent protests by Sri Lanka's
Buddhist monks and anti-government protesters.
Because the project is so expensive, so long-term, and so unrealistic,
many people are suspicious that China's motives are more complex. The
Sri Lanka port project shows what can happen -- China invests a lot of
money in an infrastructure project in a country, and thereby gains
political influence or sovereignty in the country, or even ownership
of the infrastructure. Even if the OBOR is never completed, a
successful outcome for China would be a strong economic and military
grip in countries throughout the region. South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) and CNN and China Daily and Time
Related Articles
****
**** Laborers on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) shot dead on Saturday
****
One part of the Belt and Road initiative is known as the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Over 10-20 years, at a cost of $46 billion, CPEC will supposedly build
a network of roads, railways and energy pipelines aiming to connect
western Chinese cities, starting from China's easternmost city Kashgar
in Xinjiang province, to the sea port in Gwadar on the Indian Ocean in
Balochistan province in southern Pakistan. It will have both economic
and military components. Power generation, transport, commerce, R&D
and the defense of Pakistan all will be increasingly tied to Chinese
investment, supplies and interests.
(The CNN map above does not depict the CPEC project. Nor does it
depict the "Caspian Trade Corridor" which is also part of OBOR.)
On Saturday, ten laborers working in southern Balochistan province on
the CPEC infrastructure were shot dead at close range. Pakistan's
marginalized Baloch ethnic group has been opposed to CPEC from the
beginning, as they see it as incorporating the worst of China's
investment practices.
As we reported in March,
some
Pakistani analysts concluded that China will charge Pakistan
exorbitant interest rates for the debt that it incurs. Balochs are
opposed because the project will result in an inflow of more than
600,000 Chinese people -- Chinese workers and their families --
diluting that Baloch population. Baloch activists claim that whatever
economic benefits the CPEC project will bring to Pakistan, most of the
benefits will go to the favored Punjab province. The CPEC project
will use up all of Balochistan's natural resources, and the Baloch
people will get nothing from it.
The killing of CPEC workers on Saturday highlights the massive
security concerns that will accompany the project. There will be
600,000 Chinese workers entering Pakistan every year, and they will be
targets of jihadist terror groups. These will include Afghan Uzbeks
affiliated with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), and the
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).
India is boycotting Sunday's forum in China to express its objections
to the CPEC plan, since it includes massive infrastructure projects in
Pakistan-controlled Kashmir that will affect India-controlled Kashmir
as well. According to an Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman, "The
international community is well aware of India’s position. No country
can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and
territorial integrity." Reuters and The Nation (Pakistan) and The Hindu and India Today
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, China, One Belt One Road, OBOR,
Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, Silk Road, Economic Belt,
Maritime Silk Road, Sri Lanka, Hambantota seaport,
Pakistan, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, CPEC,
Caspian Trade Corridor, Gwadar, Balochistan, India, Kashmir,
East Turkestan Islamic Movement, ETIM,
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, IMU
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- China forum launches the decades-long 'One Belt One Road' project
- Laborers on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) shot dead on Saturday
****
**** China forum launches the decades-long 'One Belt One Road' project
****
China's 'One Belt One Road' project will include overland and maritime trade routes between China and Europe (CNN)
On Sunday, 28 heads of state, 100 lower-level government officials,
and 1,200 delegates from 110 countries will attend China's "One Belt
One Road" (OBOR) forum in Beijing. It is also called the "Belt and
Road Initiative" (BRI) summit.
The romantic appeal behind the Belt and Road project is that it's a
modern day version of the ancient "Silk Road," a collection of trade
routes regularly used between 100 BC to 1400 AD by traders
carrying goods back and forth between China and Europe. The
name comes from the popularity of Chinese silk in the Roman
Empire.
However, as the map above shows, the new Silk Road is not simply
an overland route. The Belt and Road project consists of
two parts:
- The Economic Belt is a collection of hugely ambitious
land-based infrastructure projects, including a train line stretching
from eastern China to London.
- The Maritime Silk Road is a sea-based network of shipping lanes
and port developments throughout the Pacific and Indian oceans to the
Mediterranean Sea and Europe.
The OBOR includes infrastructure projects that have already been under
development since the 1990s. China plans to invest hundreds of
billions of dollars over the next 50 years or so to complete the
project.
Whether the project will ever be completed is, of course, open to
doubt. There's already been one large, spectacular failure. In 2009,
China invested $1.2 billion in Sri Lanka's Hambantota seaport. Sri
Lanka had expected to repay the debt through profits earned by the
port, but the slowdown in trade throughout the entire region in the
last few years has meant that Sri Lanka has been unable to repay the
debt, and now China has essentially taken over the port in lieu of
repayment of the debt, resulting in violent protests by Sri Lanka's
Buddhist monks and anti-government protesters.
Because the project is so expensive, so long-term, and so unrealistic,
many people are suspicious that China's motives are more complex. The
Sri Lanka port project shows what can happen -- China invests a lot of
money in an infrastructure project in a country, and thereby gains
political influence or sovereignty in the country, or even ownership
of the infrastructure. Even if the OBOR is never completed, a
successful outcome for China would be a strong economic and military
grip in countries throughout the region. South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) and CNN and China Daily and Time
Related Articles
- Violent protests in Sri Lanka over China's takeover of Hambantota seaport (08-Jan-2017)
- More on China's New Silk Road through the 'Caspian Trade Corridor' (27-Feb-2016)
- Azerbaijan becomes the hub of the Caspian Trade Corridor, part of the new Silk Road (21-Jan-2016)
****
**** Laborers on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) shot dead on Saturday
****
One part of the Belt and Road initiative is known as the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Over 10-20 years, at a cost of $46 billion, CPEC will supposedly build
a network of roads, railways and energy pipelines aiming to connect
western Chinese cities, starting from China's easternmost city Kashgar
in Xinjiang province, to the sea port in Gwadar on the Indian Ocean in
Balochistan province in southern Pakistan. It will have both economic
and military components. Power generation, transport, commerce, R&D
and the defense of Pakistan all will be increasingly tied to Chinese
investment, supplies and interests.
(The CNN map above does not depict the CPEC project. Nor does it
depict the "Caspian Trade Corridor" which is also part of OBOR.)
On Saturday, ten laborers working in southern Balochistan province on
the CPEC infrastructure were shot dead at close range. Pakistan's
marginalized Baloch ethnic group has been opposed to CPEC from the
beginning, as they see it as incorporating the worst of China's
investment practices.
As we reported in March,
some
Pakistani analysts concluded that China will charge Pakistan
exorbitant interest rates for the debt that it incurs. Balochs are
opposed because the project will result in an inflow of more than
600,000 Chinese people -- Chinese workers and their families --
diluting that Baloch population. Baloch activists claim that whatever
economic benefits the CPEC project will bring to Pakistan, most of the
benefits will go to the favored Punjab province. The CPEC project
will use up all of Balochistan's natural resources, and the Baloch
people will get nothing from it.
The killing of CPEC workers on Saturday highlights the massive
security concerns that will accompany the project. There will be
600,000 Chinese workers entering Pakistan every year, and they will be
targets of jihadist terror groups. These will include Afghan Uzbeks
affiliated with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), and the
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).
India is boycotting Sunday's forum in China to express its objections
to the CPEC plan, since it includes massive infrastructure projects in
Pakistan-controlled Kashmir that will affect India-controlled Kashmir
as well. According to an Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman, "The
international community is well aware of India’s position. No country
can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and
territorial integrity." Reuters and The Nation (Pakistan) and The Hindu and India Today
Related Articles
- India and Pakistan in vitriolic accusations at the UN over Kashmir and Balochistan (18-Sep-2016)
- Massive China-Pakistan CPEC energy project said to end energy crisis 'soon' (23-Mar-2017)
- Indians seek Kashmir solutions and blame CPEC intervention from Pakistan and China (22-Apr-2017)
- Iran-India sign 'historic' Chabahar port deal to counter Pakistan-China (25-May-2016)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, China, One Belt One Road, OBOR,
Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, Silk Road, Economic Belt,
Maritime Silk Road, Sri Lanka, Hambantota seaport,
Pakistan, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, CPEC,
Caspian Trade Corridor, Gwadar, Balochistan, India, Kashmir,
East Turkestan Islamic Movement, ETIM,
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, IMU
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
