The Dawn of Eurasia - at the crossroads of the Silk Road
February 01, 2018 | 16:40 |1232
Waves of globalization blur the geopolitical and geo-economic boundaries between Europe and Asia, turning the entire continent into a rainbow economic and cultural contacts and people-to-people cultural dialogue. At the forefront of integration processes is the reincarnation of the Great Silk Road.
New book "The Dawn of Eurasia" by Bruno Macaes, Portuguese political scientist, former Secretary of State for European Affairs in Portugal, narrates about the crossroads-cities of modern trade, transport and logistics routes, political and cultural transformations. The book has already gained popularity among fans of political literature.
Orient offers the readers the following free rendering of one of the fragments of the book "The Dawn of Eurasia»:
Chinese Khorgas – trading crossroads of Eurasia
The Chinese town of Khorgas, on the border with Kazakhstan, can not be yet found on the maps. The city that rose from scratch over the past three years turned into a network of broad avenues, being in no way inferior to Californian cities. The streets, wide sidewalks, and from a distance, such as the Kazakh border, one can see an emerging line of skyscrapers. And even while in the city with 200-thousand population is not functioning most of the traffic lights, Khorgas is already possible to consider "metropolis" from the point of view of cultural colors, woven into all levels of his life. Here, in the commercial lane located wine store with a sign that could fit the name of the shop, written in Chinese, Cyrillic, Latin, Arabic script and Georgian letters. Giant displays vividly tell about the planned infrastructure, and very soon, arrows-pointers will materialize into real means of communication in the directions East-West, which will turn Khorgas into a major Eurasian hub.Kazakhstani namesake of Chinese Khorgas
Just a few years ago, being on the other side of the Chinese border unremarkable Kazakhstani Khorgos could remain in the memory by a couple of dozen old houses, situated around a beautiful mosque and the road leading down to the border post. However, the globalization works in mysterious ways. Now, travelers who arrived by night train at the station Altynkol, instead of the inhospitable dunes, are met by the lights of the impressive railway complex and a modern two-lane highway at its final construction stages. Welcome to the new dry port Khorgos – the brainchild of an ambitious project to create one of the largest port in the place farthest from any ocean on the Earth.
Yiwu - urban model of Millennium
The paths of businessmen from Pakistan, the Middle East and Africa meet in international trade city on the Eastern edge of China, Yiwu. The population tends to satisfy the needs of the incoming flow of the businessman. That is a constantly growing demand for housing, catering, essential services, (insurance, translation). Yiwu is connected to Madrid with the longest in the world railway route. Rail line, stretching over 13 000 km links this small by Chinese standards city with one of the European capitals. Containers offloaded at the rail terminal in Yiwu, brought Spanish sunflower oil and mineral water, and the first train carried Christmas decorations to Spain. About one-quarter of toys and two-thirds of Christmas decorations sold worldwide come from Yiwu. It was here, in the world trade centre, Futian you can buy very cheap in China, and therefore worldwide, toy products. You can just lose sense of time and space, wandering through the endless corridors of the windows, decked up with smiles and animatronics. From one shop you can hear a doll's voice calling you mama, while “papa” is heard from another one, countless clowns and pandas are looking at you from the other shelves. Perhaps, the Yiwu market is designed to be a dramatized model of life in the new millennium, featured by the organization of excess.
From West to East in a consolidated Eurasian movement
Mankind is experiencing one of those rare moments in history when political and economic axis of the world shifts. And if four or five centuries ago, the axis shifted to the West, now the pendulum is moving towards the East. What does this mean for Asia? The routes of caravanserais are replaced by the grandiose contrast of skyscrapers and ultra-modern railway stations. And the West is forced to obey the political and economic winds of change blowing from the East. This century will be the century of Asia. After a couple of decades, the three Asian countries will join the five largest economies in the world. These are are China, Japan and India. The only uncertain point in this scale – who will rank fifth: Germany, Indonesia, Russia or Brazil? According to Makaes, in the context of the global economy, after 20 years it will be Indonesia. According to political scientist Charles Kupchan, the coming world, where no one will be dominant. “Due to the onset of global interdependence, it will be the first time that such a diverse set of orders intensely and continuously interact with each other”. But if we refuse the concepts of Asian or Western dominance? The author suggests the alternative of Eurasian world, symbolizing a new balance between the two poles. After all, the very name of the continent "Eurasia" is the composite word. The different ideas on political order are intermixed and forced to coexist. What is the role of the Silk Road in this process? The purpose of the ancient silk road was not so much about trade of goods than about the cultural exchange, the movement of ideas, religions and peoples. And the latter function of this artery changed many times the course of world history. The Chinese initiative of the Belt and Road through the trade and infrastructure development will have the spillovers into politics, culture and security, which is considered a fundamental feature of the project. The authorities of China understand the country cannot be isolated political island and the economic power connected with the rest of the world by trade relations. And this is why China offers to the world community its own vision of culture and of universal values. In the past the steppes of Central Asia was the cradle of civilizations, were born and where old ones would sometimes come to die. In Khorgas has a lot of history, even if there is no ruins, shrines or old minarets. However, what appears to the eyes - this is the future.
