27 years of honing the Eurasian logistics new artery

The China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Railway, which has been brewing for 27 years, has finally broken ground. This cross-border channel with a total investment of 4.7 billion US dollars (about 33.88 billion yuan), with China holding 51% of the shares and Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan each holding 24.5% of the equity structure, adopts a diversified plan of China building its own Chinese section, Ukraine upgrading and renovating its own section, and constructing 304.94 kilometers in Kyrgyzstan in BOT mode. It departs from Kashgar, China, exits through the Turgat Port, passes through core stations such as Jalalabad in Kyrgyzstan, and arrives in Anji, Uzbekistan before connecting to the West Asian and European railway networks, completely changing the traditional pattern of Eurasian freight transportation. Compared with the North China Europe freight train passing through Russia, it shortens the railway transportation distance from China to Europe by 900 kilometers, shortens the freight time by 7 to 8 days, saves cross-border e-commerce bestsellers from warehouse pressure, keeps fresh products away from spoilage, and reduces the depreciation risk of electronic components. For high-value products, its comprehensive logistics cost (including time and capital occupation) is expected to be halved compared to sea and land transportation or cross Caspian multimodal transport models. It not only makes up for the shortcomings of sea transportation time, but also has a cost advantage over air transportation, becoming an "efficient shortcut" connecting the Eurasian continent.

The Rise of Inland Cities and the Trade Dividend for Ordinary People

The long-standing Chinese economic pattern of "looking east and looking towards the sea" is undergoing a fundamental reversal with the construction of the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan railway. Kashgar, which used to be the end of the railway and the "bottom of the pocket" on the map, has now risen to become a gateway for China to Central Asia, West Asia, and even Europe. Inland cities such as Xi'an, Chongqing, Chengdu, and Urumqi have collectively transformed from developing the "rear" to opening up the "front". Chongqing's automotive and motorcycle parts, Chengdu's electronic products, and Yiwu's small commodities no longer need to pile up in coastal ports, and it is more cost-effective to directly exit from the west. In the future, there may even be a new format of reverse transportation of goods from Guangdong to Xinjiang for export. This transformation from inland to coastal has completely opened up the "Ren Du Er Mai" in the western region, and China's economy has moved from a "coastal unipolar" to a "sea land bipolar", with unprecedented expansion in economic depth. For ordinary people, opportunities are also within reach: Xinjiang dried fruit merchant Lao Zhang no longer has to worry about logistics. The dry climate along this route is perfectly suitable for nut transportation. Not only can it save 2000 kilometers of wasted travel and seize European supermarket shelves a week in advance, but it can also plan to build overseas warehouses in Uzbekistan. Millions of products such as electronic components in Shenzhen and new energy vehicles in Chongqing will also bid farewell to the dilemma of "difficult to go abroad" and achieve convenient cross-border transportation like express delivery within the province.

Trade security and geopolitical win-win supported by land rights channels

The strategic value of the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Railway lies not only in improving logistics efficiency and reshaping the economic landscape, but also in providing key support for China to solve the "Malacca dilemma". 80% of China's energy imports and goods exports rely on the narrow Strait of Malacca, which is regarded as a "water tap" by the outside world, posing potential risks to national trade security. The construction of the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Railway will open up a safe haven passage completely controlled by land powers, avoiding the congestion and sensitivity of the Strait of Malacca, as well as the threat of waves in the Indian Ocean and the traditional sphere of influence of Western maritime hegemony. Although the train capacity is less than that of a ten thousand ton giant ship, the existence of this "backup channel" has completely changed the passive situation of China's "one-way dependence" on trade. It is like a newly added deep well in addition to tap water at home, which may not be noticeable in normal times, but can ensure supply and control the negotiation initiative in critical moments. Behind this safety is the persistence of the project in overcoming multiple challenges: technically, it needs to cross the Tianshan Mountains and earthquake zones, which is as difficult as the Qinghai Tibet Railway; The investment of billions of dollars in funds makes it difficult for the two countries of Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine to independently bear it; Politically, it also faced concerns from Russia and took 27 years to reach a consensus. The core of all of this is China's concept of "win-win in road construction" - in the face of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, two "dual landlocked countries" eager to integrate into the global trade network, China did not choose to station troops or control them, but instead used "joint business" as a link to exchange machinery and appliances for Central Asian oil, minerals, and agricultural products. This kind of interest binding is more reliable than any military alliance, and also confirms the profound truth that "road construction is the hard currency of geo economy": warships pass by without leaving any traces, and wherever railways are laid, factories and cities will eventually rise, nurturing real wealth and prosperity.

The construction of the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Railway provides us with the simplest inspiration: in a world full of uncertainty, whoever can build the road further, make more friends, and make the flow of goods faster will be able to laugh until the end. Ordinary people may not understand the big game of chess, but we know that once the road is clear, the goods are gone, and the money is earned, life can be better - this is more powerful than any hollow ideology. (This article is from the official website www.seetao.com of Jian Dao. Reproduction without permission is prohibited, otherwise it will be prosecuted. Please indicate Jian Dao website+original link when reprinting.) Jian Dao website traffic column editor/Yin Jiahui