Building the New Eurasia

Apart from building railways, roads and pipelines connecting Asia and Europe, China has been working hard to build other kinds of connections by strengthening its political and economic ties across Eurasia. 

The most recent expression of this was a visit to Beijing by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev late in October. During this visit China and Russia affirmed the strength of their relationship, with each country rating the other as its “most important strategic partner”. 

Medvedev signed a raft of oil and investment deals and the two countries resolved to increase trade to $100 billion (Bt3.16 trillion) by 2015 and $200 billion by 2020. 

Medvedev commented that despite the continuing weak outlook for developed economies, BRIC countries and other emerging economies in Asia and Eastern Europe show great growth potential. By intensifying its relationship with China, Russia will not only broaden its market for oil but will also be able to expand its economic base, as China has offered to provide support and cooperation in areas such as high technology, aerospace, nuclear energy and cross-border infrastructure.

As a sideline, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also in Beijing during Medvedev’s visit, and there was also a warming in this difficult relationship. During Singh’s visit to China, the parties agreed to establish an economic corridor that will connect China, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar, with projects such as railways and industrial parks. This will allow China to bypass the Strait of Malacca and facilitate access to the Persian Gulf, adding yet another dimension to China’s big geopolitical picture.

Early in September Chinese President Xi Jinping completed a week-long tour of Central Asia, where China aims to secure access to the region’s riches. He announced around 100 investment and trade deals, including an agreement to double Turkmenistan gas exports to China, oil deals in Kazakhstan, oil, gas and gold deals in Uzbekistan, and a pipeline deal in Kyrgyzstan.

The new leadership in China has certainly been energetic and is making great progress in achieving its ambitious plans. These include developing western China as a manufacturing hub, and linking it by modern transport networks to Eastern and Western Europe.

It is worth remembering the words of Halford Mackinder, one of the founding fathers of geopolitics and geostrategy, that whoever controlled the Eurasian heartland would determine the fate of empires. If this is so, China certainly seems to be making some impressive moves.

 

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