In ancient China, the Silk Road extended on the map of the world, telling a moving story of friendly exchanges and mutual benefit among people from all countries along the way. Nowadays, a new strategic concept is calmly spreading out on the world's political and economic territory, that is, the Belt and Road Initiative. The One Belt One Road runs through the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, with a vibrant East Asian economic circle on one end and a developed European economic circle on the other. The vast hinterland countries in the middle have huge economic development potential. Just like the Western Europe-Western China International Highway that carries the Belt and Road Initiative, it starts from Lianyungang in China in the east to St. Petersburg in Russia in the west and passes through dozens of cities in the three countries of China, Kazakhstan and Russia. It is the main bridge and channel connecting the Belt and Road Initiative, and it is also a multi-party mutual benefit. s project.

The Western Europe-Russia-Kazakhstan-Western China International Road Transport Corridor ("Shuangxi Highway") has a total length of 8445 kilometers, of which the length of Russia is 2233 kilometers, the length of Kazakhstan is 2787 kilometers, and the length of China is 3425 kilometers. It mainly guarantees the road transportation of China-Kazakhstan, China-Central Asia, China-Kazakhstan-Russia-Western Europe.

The vitality brought by a highway

In the vast land of Kazakhstan, a major traffic artery is looming.

On September 10, 2009, Kazakhstan officially launched the Western Europe-Western China International Road Transport Corridor in Kazakhstan. In 2017, the expressway connecting Western Europe and Western China was officially put into use. This transportation corridor connecting the two continents of Asia and Europe and traversing the entire territory of Kazakhstan has become the modern Silk Road, continuously transporting goods from the two continents to the other end of the road. The opening of the “Shuangxi Highway” coincides with the grand vision of “Building the Silk Road Economic Belt” proposed by President Xi Jinping. This artery will allow countries along the route to catch the “express train” of economic development in the Asia-Pacific region, thereby promoting economic development in the regions along the route.

The 37-year-old local driver Battelle said that the road is much smoother now. The 160-kilometer road from Shymkent to Turkistan now only takes one and a half hours, especially the fifth section of China Hydropower’s contract. The road section of “Made in China” is smoother and the supporting facilities are more complete. Bekov, Vice Chairman of the Highway Committee of the Ministry of Investment and Development of Kazakhstan, said: "The Western Europe-China Western Transport Corridor in Kazakhstan will inject vitality into local economic development. It is estimated that after the Western Europe-China Western Transport Corridor is put into use, there will be 30 million tons per year. Goods transit through Kazakhstan through this corridor."

In addition, at the end of 2017, the Chinese section of the Western Europe-Western China International Highway was officially opened to traffic, marking that China has officially completed the construction of the 3,425-kilometer Chinese section. The G218 Horgos Port Section Highway Project is an important section of the "Shuangxi Highway" in the construction of the Chinese section. Its starting point is located in the southern joint inspection area of the New National Gate of the Horgos Port, and the ending point is at the newly-built Huokou section of the G30 (Lianhuo Expressway). The Ergos interchange is connected to form a 10-kilometer fast track between the G30 Lianhuo Expressway and the Xinguomen. This increases the volume of goods passing through the Horgos export to 3.5 million tons and shortens the transportation time by 35 days. Annual economic benefits of 460 million U.S. dollars can be created. Li Zhinong, deputy director of the Department of Transportation of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said that the G218 line is expected to become the busiest and busiest transportation hub for the economic, trade and cultural bridges between China and Kazakhstan and even the Eurasian continent, and one of the important international logistics centers and regional logistics centers. One.

In Russia, the construction of various road sections has been started. It is reported that in 2016, the Russian Federation Project Financing Center announced an investment of 400 billion rubles (about 45 billion yuan) in the Shuangxi project, accounting for about 74.6 billion yuan of total investment funds for this section of the road. ) 51%. In November 2019, when referring to this project, Russia pointed out that although the volume of trade between Russia and China is increasing, the transportation infrastructure with China and Kazakhstan is still underdeveloped, and promised to complete the related infrastructure projects. In September 2020, China Railway Construction International Group signed a contract for the fifth section of the Moscow-Kazan Expressway project with a contract value of approximately 5.2 billion yuan, which is expected to be completed in 2024. In addition, according to Russian Duma (lower house of parliament) Chairman Vorokin, the construction of the Russian section of the Shuangxi Highway (the Meridian project) will start in 2021.

Make the Silk Road dream more realistic

The construction of the Belt and Road Initiative is an important platform for China to implement all-round opening up under the new historical conditions and to promote mutual benefit and win-win results. We must take a higher position, a broader perspective, and on the basis of absorbing and learning from historical experience, with innovative ideas and innovative thinking, we must do a solid job in all kinds of work, so that the people of the countries along the route can feel it. The benefits brought to them by the Belt and Road Initiative. Andrei Khazbratov, Director of the Institute of Cultural Sciences of Kazakhstan, said: "The spirit of the Silk Road has continued to the present. The construction of the Shuangxi Highway will provide logistics for the Eurasian continent and even the economic and social integration of the entire region. Have a major positive impact."

In addition, the construction of the Shuangxi Highway is in line with the Silk Road Economic Belt proposed by President Xi Jinping. Countries along the route will benefit from this, and promote economic development in the areas along the route, especially Kazakhstan will gain a number of benefits. On the one hand, the volume of trade between China and the EU is huge. Now most of the goods are transported by sea. After the opening of the Shuangxi Road, Kazakhstan will be an important hub on this major artery. A large amount of logistics and passenger flow will bring Kazakhstan hundreds of millions of dollars each year. income. On the other hand, Kazakhstan can also take advantage of convenient transportation corridors to expand the export of domestic products and bring more business opportunities to local enterprises.

In recent years, shopping from Chinese websites has become more and more popular in Kazakhstan and Russia. Madina, who lives in Astana, like many local young people, often visits Chinese websites to buy cheap and good-quality Chinese products such as children's toys and clothes. She told our reporter that the only shortcoming now is that the logistics speed from China to Kazakhstan is a bit slower, and it takes more than a month from ordering to receiving. Zhusipov is in the oil drill business in Almaty. His partner in Urumqi, China, shipped the drill bits made in China by air, and then shipped them to customers in Kazakhstan by air or rail. Zhusipov said that after the opening of the Shuangxi Highway, his shipping costs have been reduced by 30%.

Transport Corridor Zehui Quartet

The construction of Shuangxi Highway is of great significance to the countries passing by along the way. As the highway connects the booming Asia-Pacific region, including China, and the economically developed Western Europe, this artery will allow the countries along the route to catch the "express train" of economic development in the Asia-Pacific region, thereby promoting the economic development of the regions along the route.

This major international corridor will connect the vast area from western China to Western Europe, greatly reducing transportation costs. Originally, 98% of cargo from China to Europe was transported by sea. The Western Europe-Western China International Highway will become the shortest transport route for Asia-Pacific countries to reach the European market. Departure from Lianyungang to Europe, the time required will be shortened from the previous 45 days by sea to 10 days. The completion of this Eurasian-European corridor will become the basic guarantee for the construction of the "Silk Road Economic Belt" in the entire region, driving the substantial growth of cargo transportation in Asia and Europe, and laying a solid foundation for more mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between regions. Foundation.

Especially for Kazakhstan, which is located in the center of this large artery, the Shuangxi Highway has brought considerable economic benefits to it. Kazakhstan officially announced that Shuangxi Highway will implement full-line tolls in Kazakhstan. It is estimated that the goods transiting Kazakhstan by then will bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue each year. Su Ning, an associate professor at the School of Finance of Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics, said that the Shuangxi Highway will shorten the time for domestic and European trade and logistics, which will greatly improve the operational efficiency of enterprises, reduce operating costs, and increase the total demand of international trade. It is the realization of the Belt and Road connecting Asia and Europe. The concrete manifestation of the mainland.

As far as China is concerned, the opening of the Shuangxi Highway fits the grand vision of "Building the Silk Road Economic Belt" put forward by President Xi Jinping. This transportation corridor will undoubtedly speed up the development of western China, make the western region more open, promote product upgrading and industrial restructuring in the western region, and stimulate the economic development of the western region. Editor/Tian Zengpeng