DM Monitoring
BISHKEK: Kyrgyz and Chinese, who were linked by the Silk Road in ancient times, now are linked by the joint One Belt, One Road project.
The Belt and Road initiative, announced by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2013, unites the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road.
Belt and Road covers most of Eurasia, connecting developing and developed countries. Rich reserves of resources are concentrated on the territory of this project where 63% of the world’s population lives. China has signed cooperation agreements under the Belt and Road Initiative with about 150 countries and international organizations.
Kyrgyzstan and China are neighbors, with the length of the state border between them is 858 km. In addition, the two countries are strategic partners. They took their countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership to new heights last year during the SCO Summit in Bishkek. During his visit to Kyrgyzstan, Chinese president Xi Jinping stressed that jointly building the Belt and Road has become the focus of China-Kyrgyzstan cooperation, calling on the two countries to deepen the alignment of their development strategies, tap new potential of partnerships and explore new space of cooperation.
Today, China’s economic strategy is becoming global. The initiative is spread across all the spheres, including economy, culture, medicine, education system, tourism, sports, archeology and other areas, by forming a new model of cooperation between countries. This model, created in the spirit of the ancient Silk Road, attracts the attention of potential trading partners, moving goods from China through Central Asia to Eurasia and further to the West.
The implementation of the initiative may lead to the formation of a new architecture of the world economy around Eurasia, where Central Asia is becoming the main connecting link. It is important for Kyrgyzstan, like other countries of Central Asia, to participate in the implementation of this megaproject, to effectively use the emerging new opportunities and advantages of regional cooperation.
Kyrgyzstan has a unique opportunity to become a valuable transport hub for the movement of goods and services from the Asia-Pacific region to the Middle East and Europe. As a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), as well as having the GSP + status of the European Union, Kyrgyzstan perfectly fits into the initiative.
Expert Igor Shestakov told Kabar News Agency that Kyrgyzstan’s participation in Belt and Road Initiative is vital for the country. At the same time, he said that Kyrgyzstan is underusing the potential that the Belt and Road projecthas. “China has consistently been pragmatically and progressively developing one of the world’s most important infrastructure projects during seven years, since 2013 when it was announced,” he said.
The expert believes that for Kyrgyzstan, this is an opportunity to get out of the transport and logistics deadlock, as the country has big problems with not only access to European markets, but also to the markets of the post-Soviet space.
