It is undoudtable that China is the new rising world power with a long-term strategy of economic and political expansion. The geopolitically crucial area of ​​Eurasia is a new field of competition as China seeks to revive the “Silk Road”, a trade route that leading to Europe and from there to the rest of the world. This ambitious project called “Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)” started in 2013 and includes over a thousand projects in the wider Eurasian region. The plan includes the development of infrastructure for the transportation of goods by land and sea from China to various parts of the world. The BRI was designed to promote trade between different continents and, of course, to make China a world power. After all, control of Eurasia is a catalyst for world domination and it, therefore, provokes geopolitical rivalry between global actors.

The Silk Road is not new, as it was first created during the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) and was a huge network of trade routes connecting China with the West and facilitating an unprecedented increase in transport and trade in Eurasia. At this crossroad of East and West, the modern Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region of China is located. Archaeological and anthropological research reveals that the local population of Xinjiang then underwent dramatic changes in culture and politics and adopted different lifestyles and economic strategies.

China launched the Belt and Road initiative in 2013 as, during that period, China was facing an economic slowdown and had to deal with a surplus of industrial capacity and stagnant exports. Low domestic demand was insufficient to cope with the high level of production and, therefore, China had to conquer new markets around the world. Thus, China turned to the Silk Road revitalization effort by adopting the BRI initiative, which was designed precisely to improve trade and cooperation between different parts of the world. According to the World Bank, the BRI will be able to increase foreign investment and improve living conditions in the participating countries. Furthermore, the removal of trade barriers is expected to bring great benefits to countries along the BRI corridor. In addition, the BRI reaches regions of the world that have been marginalized by globalization by developing transport networks and thus facilitating trade with these countries. For example, the China-Pakistan corridor project seeks to reduce the distance between China and the Middle East, as from the current 12,900 kilometres by sea, the distance will be reduced to 3,000 kilometres by land, which also enhances its energy security.

The Silk Road also has huge benefits for Europe, most notably COSCO’s huge investment in the port of Piraeus, where Chinese products end up by sea and then by train to Central and Northern Europe. COSCO has also made huge investment in Duisburg of Germany where COSCO trains terminate.

This urgent economic planning of China includes cooperation with Russia. In fact, the violent unrest in their common neighbour, Kazakhstan, has brought the two countries even closer. In fact, as the recent unrest in Kazakhstan erupted, Beijing offered its full support to the President of Kazakhstan, with the Chinese President offering his support to efforts to suppress what China considered a “colour revolution” in Kazakhstan while promising support for Russia has called for deeper co-ordination with Moscow in Central Asia and around the world as tensions between the Kremlin and Washington continue to rise. After a telephone conversation between the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Wang said China welcomes Russia’s mission to Kazakhstan as it plays a “positive role in restoring stability in Kazakhstan.”

China has invested tens of billions of dollars in Kazakhstan since 2013. The geopolitical importance of Kazakhstan and the wider region for China was made clear by the fact that in 2013, the Chinese President announced from Kazakhstan the trade and infrastructure development program that would link East and Central Asia with Europe in an attempt to revive the Silk Road. It is obvious that Eurasia had and has great geopolitical value, as this region is rich in energy resources and is located on the Silk Road and therefore China and Russia want to take advantage of the opportunities that this region presents.

China aims to provide financial support not only to the countries of Central Asia but also to the countries of Eastern Europe in order to build a trade bridge with Europe. At the same time, Russia has a strategic security interest in Eastern Europe, as in the case of Ukraine. This is of particular concern to the United States, which views with suspicion the penetration of China and Russia in Eastern Europe. Thus, the US is developing the “double containment” strategy against both China and Russia, something that may have the opposite effects, that is, to bring the two powers China and Russia closer in the end.

In conclusion, the Silk Road has huge geo-economic and geopolitical implications worldwide. Countries in the wider Eurasia will certainly benefit from new infrastructure and investment, but, on the other hand, will depend on China with all that entails. This will have geopolitical consequences for the EU due to its geographical proximity to Eurasia and its Euro-Atlantic dependence. Thus, the EU will be in the “grip” of geopolitical and economic competition between the US, Russia and China as it is energy dependent on Russia but also has no room to break its relations with China which, in recent years, has emerged as a huge EU financial partner.

*Dr. Panagiotis Sfaelos is Lawyer, Political Scientist and Journalist, International Relations Officer of the Association of European Journalists and Vice President of the Centre for International Strategic Analyses – KEDISA. He also teaches European and International Law at the Hellenic Police Academy