Back
About RSIS
Introduction
Building the Foundations
Welcome Message
Board of Governors
Staff Profiles
Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
Dean’s Office
Management
Distinguished Fellows
Faculty and Research
Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
Visiting Fellows
Adjunct Fellows
Administrative Staff
Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
RSIS Endowment Fund
Endowed Professorships
Career Opportunities
Getting to RSIS
Research
Research Centres
Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)
Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
Research Programmes
National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
Social Cohesion Research Programme (SCRP)
Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
Other Research
Future Issues and Technology Cluster
Research@RSIS
Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
Graduate Education
Graduate Programmes Office
Exchange Partners and Programmes
How to Apply
Financial Assistance
Meet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other events
RSIS Alumni
Outreach
Global Networks
About Global Networks
RSIS Alumni
International Programmes
About International Programmes
Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)
Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)
International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS)
International Strategy Forum-Asia (ISF-Asia)
Executive Education
About Executive Education
SRP Executive Programme
Terrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
PUBLIC EDUCATION
About Public Education
Publications
RSIS Publications
Annual Reviews
Books
Bulletins and Newsletters
RSIS Commentary Series
Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
Commemorative / Event Reports
Future Issues
IDSS Papers
Interreligious Relations
Monographs
NTS Insight
Policy Reports
Working Papers
External Publications
Authored Books
Journal Articles
Edited Books
Chapters in Edited Books
Policy Reports
Working Papers
Op-Eds
Glossary of Abbreviations
Policy-relevant Articles Given RSIS Award
RSIS Publications for the Year
External Publications for the Year
Media
News Releases
Speeches
Video/Audio Channel
Events
Contact Us
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Think Tank and Graduate School Ponder The Improbable Since 1966
Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University
  • About RSIS
      IntroductionBuilding the FoundationsWelcome MessageBoard of GovernorsHonours and Awards for RSIS Staff and StudentsRSIS Endowment FundEndowed ProfessorshipsCareer OpportunitiesGetting to RSIS
      Staff ProfilesExecutive Deputy Chairman’s OfficeDean’s OfficeManagementDistinguished FellowsFaculty and ResearchAssociate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research AnalystsVisiting FellowsAdjunct FellowsAdministrative Staff
  • Research
      Research CentresCentre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
      Research ProgrammesNational Security Studies Programme (NSSP)Social Cohesion Research Programme (SCRP)Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
      Other ResearchFuture Issues and Technology ClusterResearch@RSISScience and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
      Graduate Programmes OfficeExchange Partners and ProgrammesHow to ApplyFinancial AssistanceMeet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other eventsRSIS Alumni
  • Outreach
      Global NetworksAbout Global NetworksRSIS Alumni
      International ProgrammesAbout International ProgrammesAsia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS)International Strategy Forum-Asia (ISF-Asia)
      Executive EducationAbout Executive EducationSRP Executive ProgrammeTerrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
      PUBLIC EDUCATIONAbout Public Education
  • Publications
      RSIS PublicationsAnnual ReviewsBooksBulletins and NewslettersRSIS Commentary SeriesCounter Terrorist Trends and AnalysesCommemorative / Event ReportsFuture IssuesIDSS PapersInterreligious RelationsMonographsNTS InsightPolicy ReportsWorking Papers
      External PublicationsAuthored BooksJournal ArticlesEdited BooksChapters in Edited BooksPolicy ReportsWorking PapersOp-Eds
      Glossary of AbbreviationsPolicy-relevant Articles Given RSIS AwardRSIS Publications for the YearExternal Publications for the Year
  • Media
      News ReleasesSpeechesVideo/Audio Channel
  • Events
  • Contact Us
    • Connect with Us

      rsis.ntu
      rsis_ntu
      rsisntu
      rsisvideocast
      school/rsis-ntu
      rsis.sg
      rsissg
      RSIS
      RSS
      Subscribe to RSIS Publications
      Subscribe to RSIS Events

      Getting to RSIS

      Nanyang Technological University
      Block S4, Level B3,
      50 Nanyang Avenue,
      Singapore 639798

      Click here for direction to RSIS
Connect
Search
  • RSIS
  • Publication
  • RSIS Publications
  • CO13189 | Central Asia: China Opens a New Silk Road
  • Annual Reviews
  • Books
  • Bulletins and Newsletters
  • RSIS Commentary Series
  • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
  • Commemorative / Event Reports
  • Future Issues
  • IDSS Papers
  • Interreligious Relations
  • Monographs
  • NTS Insight
  • Policy Reports
  • Working Papers

CO13189 | Central Asia: China Opens a New Silk Road
Loro Horta

09 October 2013

download pdf

Synopsis

In early September Chinese President Xi Jingping visited several Central Asian countries bringing billions in investment. The trip could signal the opening of a new silk road connecting the Eurasian landmass with East Asia through China – ushering in a new economic and political era.

Commentary

IN THE past decade, Central Asia has grown from a marginal position in Beijing’s strategic calculus to the top of its diplomatic priorities: China is fast emerging as a vital economic and political player in this strategically located and resource rich region.

China’s new focus in the region has been on cultivating good relations with the newly independent republics that bordered its restive western province of Xinjiang, home to several Turkic groups such as the Uighur, Uzbeks and Kazaks. Uighur nationalists and separatists, or “splitists” as Beijing calls them, have on occasion used the neighbouring countries to organise anti-China activity.

Concerns over energy supplies

To stabilise the region, China began to provide development aid and enhance security cooperation. As China’s economic power grew, so did its demand for energy resources and the corresponding need to diversify its supplies that are critical for its economic growth. Like the United States, China has been concern with turmoil in the Middle East and disruption of access to vital oil and gas supplies. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) China will overtake the US as the world’s largest consumer of oil by 2017.

As the crisis in Syria exacerbates China’s fears of Middle East instability, Beijing is also increasingly concerned about possible disruptions in Southeast Asia. China worries that tensions or non- traditional security threats like piracy and maritime accidents could lead to disruptions in the Straits of Malacca where the bulk of Chinese energy imports must transit.

The land route option

To reduce its vulnerability to possible disruption of supplies, China has begun to look to Central Asia as an alternative source of energy. Close proximity and shared borders with the Middle Kingdom reduce transportation costs and dependence on seaborne supplies. No other region offers such convenience.

Patient and skillful diplomacy, topped with generous financial incentives, slowly opened the region up to China. In 2006 Beijing’s efforts paid off when China and Kazakhstan signed a deal to build a 3000 km pipeline to transport Kazakh oil and gas to the western Chinese province of Xinjiang. Ever since China had gained a significant presence in the country’s energy sector, with some experts estimating that 50 percent of the Kazakh energy sector is now owned by Chinese state-owned companies. In July the two countries signed an agreement to expand the pipeline and double production.

The expanded pipeline could also transport Russian oil to China by mid next year, linking China to one of its main oil suppliers. It is understood that Russian oil company Rosneft earlier this year negotiated a US$35 billion loan from China. Rosneft intended to use the loan to buy off several of its rivals. In exchange the Russians would double oil supplies to China. Russia is the world’s second largest oil exporter.

In 2009 China concluded the construction of the multi-billion dollar Turkmenistan-China pipeline. The 1840 km pipeline crosses neighbouring Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and will take oil and natural gas to Xinjiang. In 2012 Turkmenistan became China’s main source of natural gas providing over 50 percent of China’s gas imports. Iran, the world’s third largest oil producer, already has a pipeline to Turkmenistan, which could be further extended to link up with the Turkmenistan-China pipeline.

A new silk road?

On another front, China and Pakistan are in the initial stages of developing the Xinjiang Gwadar development corridor. Beijing has funded the construction of the port of Gwadar in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan at a cost of $1.2 billion. The port is strategically located at the eastern approach of the Persian Gulf in close proximity to Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The Gwadar development corridor will see the construction of an extensive network of roads, rail links and pipelines connecting the Persian Gulf to western China, thus shortening the distance to transport supplies vital to the Chinese economy.

During Xi’s September visit to the Central Asian region, a staggering array of deals worth dozens of billions of dollars were signed. With Kazakhstan, deals worth $30 billion were inked covering energy, mining, infrastructure, science, and education. With Uzbekistan, 22 deals worth $15 billion were signed while Kirgizstan received a $3 billion soft loan for infrastructure. This growing investment has the potential to integrate the economies of Russia, Central Asia and China to a degree not seen since the days of the ancient silk road.

About the Author

Loro Horta is an alumnus of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. He is also a graduate of the Chinese National Defence University and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce Central School. Currently based in Turkmenistan, his views expressed here are strictly personal.

Categories: RSIS Commentary Series / International Politics and Security / East Asia and Asia Pacific

Synopsis

In early September Chinese President Xi Jingping visited several Central Asian countries bringing billions in investment. The trip could signal the opening of a new silk road connecting the Eurasian landmass with East Asia through China – ushering in a new economic and political era.

Commentary

IN THE past decade, Central Asia has grown from a marginal position in Beijing’s strategic calculus to the top of its diplomatic priorities: China is fast emerging as a vital economic and political player in this strategically located and resource rich region.

China’s new focus in the region has been on cultivating good relations with the newly independent republics that bordered its restive western province of Xinjiang, home to several Turkic groups such as the Uighur, Uzbeks and Kazaks. Uighur nationalists and separatists, or “splitists” as Beijing calls them, have on occasion used the neighbouring countries to organise anti-China activity.

Concerns over energy supplies

To stabilise the region, China began to provide development aid and enhance security cooperation. As China’s economic power grew, so did its demand for energy resources and the corresponding need to diversify its supplies that are critical for its economic growth. Like the United States, China has been concern with turmoil in the Middle East and disruption of access to vital oil and gas supplies. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) China will overtake the US as the world’s largest consumer of oil by 2017.

As the crisis in Syria exacerbates China’s fears of Middle East instability, Beijing is also increasingly concerned about possible disruptions in Southeast Asia. China worries that tensions or non- traditional security threats like piracy and maritime accidents could lead to disruptions in the Straits of Malacca where the bulk of Chinese energy imports must transit.

The land route option

To reduce its vulnerability to possible disruption of supplies, China has begun to look to Central Asia as an alternative source of energy. Close proximity and shared borders with the Middle Kingdom reduce transportation costs and dependence on seaborne supplies. No other region offers such convenience.

Patient and skillful diplomacy, topped with generous financial incentives, slowly opened the region up to China. In 2006 Beijing’s efforts paid off when China and Kazakhstan signed a deal to build a 3000 km pipeline to transport Kazakh oil and gas to the western Chinese province of Xinjiang. Ever since China had gained a significant presence in the country’s energy sector, with some experts estimating that 50 percent of the Kazakh energy sector is now owned by Chinese state-owned companies. In July the two countries signed an agreement to expand the pipeline and double production.

The expanded pipeline could also transport Russian oil to China by mid next year, linking China to one of its main oil suppliers. It is understood that Russian oil company Rosneft earlier this year negotiated a US$35 billion loan from China. Rosneft intended to use the loan to buy off several of its rivals. In exchange the Russians would double oil supplies to China. Russia is the world’s second largest oil exporter.

In 2009 China concluded the construction of the multi-billion dollar Turkmenistan-China pipeline. The 1840 km pipeline crosses neighbouring Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and will take oil and natural gas to Xinjiang. In 2012 Turkmenistan became China’s main source of natural gas providing over 50 percent of China’s gas imports. Iran, the world’s third largest oil producer, already has a pipeline to Turkmenistan, which could be further extended to link up with the Turkmenistan-China pipeline.

A new silk road?

On another front, China and Pakistan are in the initial stages of developing the Xinjiang Gwadar development corridor. Beijing has funded the construction of the port of Gwadar in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan at a cost of $1.2 billion. The port is strategically located at the eastern approach of the Persian Gulf in close proximity to Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The Gwadar development corridor will see the construction of an extensive network of roads, rail links and pipelines connecting the Persian Gulf to western China, thus shortening the distance to transport supplies vital to the Chinese economy.

During Xi’s September visit to the Central Asian region, a staggering array of deals worth dozens of billions of dollars were signed. With Kazakhstan, deals worth $30 billion were inked covering energy, mining, infrastructure, science, and education. With Uzbekistan, 22 deals worth $15 billion were signed while Kirgizstan received a $3 billion soft loan for infrastructure. This growing investment has the potential to integrate the economies of Russia, Central Asia and China to a degree not seen since the days of the ancient silk road.

About the Author

Loro Horta is an alumnus of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. He is also a graduate of the Chinese National Defence University and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce Central School. Currently based in Turkmenistan, his views expressed here are strictly personal.

Categories: RSIS Commentary Series / International Politics and Security

Popular Links

About RSISResearch ProgrammesGraduate EducationPublicationsEventsAdmissionsCareersVideo/Audio ChannelRSIS Intranet

Connect with Us

rsis.ntu
rsis_ntu
rsisntu
rsisvideocast
school/rsis-ntu
rsis.sg
rsissg
RSIS
RSS
Subscribe to RSIS Publications
Subscribe to RSIS Events

Getting to RSIS

Nanyang Technological University
Block S4, Level B3,
50 Nanyang Avenue,
Singapore 639798

Click here for direction to RSIS

Get in Touch

    Copyright © S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. All rights reserved.
    Privacy Statement / Terms of Use
    Help us improve

      Rate your experience with this website
      123456
      Not satisfiedVery satisfied
      What did you like?
      0/255 characters
      What can be improved?
      0/255 characters
      Your email
      Please enter a valid email.
      Thank you for your feedback.
      This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. By continuing, you are agreeing to the use of cookies on your device as described in our privacy policy. Learn more
      OK
      Latest Book
      more info