EURASIA REVIEW - JOURNAL OF TURKISH WEEKLY - May 27, 2015
By Selçuk Çolakoğlu and Emre Tunç Sakaoğlu
A majority of the projects introduced by China within the scope of
the ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’ vision have yet to reach maturity.
Nevertheless, the draft outlines prepared for these projects promise
great potential in the eyes of many regional countries including Turkey,
which have received relevant proposals with great enthusiasm. A
combined budget worth nearly $40 billion will be allocated to these
projects through which China is planning to boost its influence over
Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East in particular. Another
objective set by Beijing when introducing the projects in question was
to promote China as a leader country which is deemed indispensable for
regional stability, development, and integration.
As to the prerequisite for the realization of all the Silk Road
projects, reinforcing regional transportation infrastructures and
improving intra-regional logistic links come to the fore. In that
regard, the ‘Iron Silk Road’ project is expected to form the backbone of
a greater vision of multi-dimensional cooperation among Turkey, China,
and the rest of the region concerned; and raise the level of relations
between these countries to the highest level. Within the scope of the
‘Iron Silk Road’ project, the parties involved hope to put into
operation a railway line that passes through China’s Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region (XUAR) and Central Asian countries before reaching
Turkey and Europe. The new railway line will function as the latest
continental land bridge and lay the groundwork for the creation of a
vast market that is expected to surpass $1 trillion in cumulative volume
by virtue of low tariffs, extensive people-to-people contacts, and
improved interdependency.
Ankara’s approach to the subject
The main reason why Ankara receives Silk Road projects favorably, and
leans toward the idea of actively taking part in the ‘Iron Silk Road’
project in particular, is the firm belief that commercial relations
between Turkey and Central Asian countries will be amplified through the
actualization of such prospective projects as soon as possible. Through
this project, Ankara is also looking forward to capitalize on its
geostrategic advantage that essentially derives from lying at the
intersection zone of traditional transport routes connecting Europe and
Asia. With this project, it wishes to place itself once again at the
center of inter-continental transport routes, this time by way of
harboring a major railway corridor between Europe and Asia that will
facilitate trade in fossil fuels, minerals, and manufactured goods,
alongside agricultural products and other raw materials. Besides, Turkey
believes the project will set the scene for closer bilateral relations
with China based on mutual trust and substantial economic cooperation as
new railway lines envisaged by the project will carry a significant
quantity of passengers and freight on both directions between the two
countries concerned. Moreover, bilateral economic relations will be
protected from the potentially disturbing effects of fluctuations in the
value of the dollar thanks to two-way trade in national currencies
instead. In sum, the ‘Iron Silk Road’ project is seen as a potential
leverage that can allow Ankara to become the ultimate playmaker in the
Euroasian arena while increasing its economic and political radius of
action.
READ MORE.....
