Reflections of a Great Silk Road

by John Maryon

East—west trade routes were first established between Europe and China during the Han Dynasty in the second century BC. Columns of camels, ideally suited to the formidable terrain, carried silk, spices, tea, silver, gold, salt and sugar along the 4,350 mile road.  Trading posts and markets were established which enabled trade between diverse cultures.  The Silk Road remained in existence for over 1,500 years linking the civilisations of Europe and China. 
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed by China's President Xi Jinping in the autumn of 2013.  Within 10 years it has grown into the largest infrastructure and Investment project ever undertaken.  A total of 172 countries and international organisations have signed over 200 co-operation agreements with China.  Sour grapes claims by Western leaders that it is running out of steam, is a debt trap and allows China to dominate others have been debunked as over 2,500 delegates including presidents, prime ministers, bankers, technical experts and government officials arrived in Beijing for the Third Forum of BRI.  It was a dramatic demonstration of the building of a new multipolar world order based upon mutual cooperation. It will enable smaller and weaker nations to resist US hegemony while forming a platform for green, sustainable development. 
December 2021 saw completion of the China - Laos 1,035 km. High Speed Railway (HSR) connecting Kunming in south west China with the Laotian capital city of Vientiane. The flagship project was fully in line with the policy of Laos to develop from a land locked country to a land linked one.  Since it opened it has carried some 3, 270, 000 passengers and each day moves 8230 tonnes of freight.  The previous 4 day journey has been cut from 4 days to just 10 hours. Increased employment and entrepreneurial opportunities have been created for residents along the line.  Tourism has increased rapidly and many opportunities created for people to people contact.  Such projects are essentially long term  investment ventures and the route is expected to make a profit in 20 years. 
BRI for land locked central Asian republics is creating important opportunities through infrastructure projects. Roads, rail links, pipelines and power grids act a catalyst for further developments that boost trade and economic development.  China has been able to use the expertise gained, from lifting 800,000 of its own people out of severe poverty, to enable others also to enjoy increased prosperity.  As poverty is eliminated the attraction of violent extremism becomes reduced. The regions’ new long distance railways facilitate trade between Europe and Asia - a new Silk Road is being created for today.
BRI extends into South East Asia.  Indonesian President Joko Widodo's arrival at the Forum coincided with the first passenger services on the Chinese built Jakarta - Banding HSR.  The 147 km line links the capital with the country's financial centre. 
BRI dovetails with Mongolia's Steppe Road programme.  One objective being to upgrade the Trans-Mongolian rail corridor in association with its neighbours.  Proposals have been made for pipelines that would not only transfer Russian gas to China but enable Mongolia to develop it's own oil and gas resources.  New highways are being built and facilities created to speed up custom clearance. New opportunities are being created to boost exports of minerals, cashmere, meat, wool and coal. As with all BRI it's partners China abides with local laws and customs. 
Speaking in 2022 Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi encouraged Afghanistan and Pakistan to jointly build the BRI.  He said China and those two countries should advance cooperation on economic and political development, counter terrorism and security issues. An  important project in Pakistan is the Karot Hydropower Station that will play an important role in ensuring the country's energy security.  A new road is being built between China and Pakistan that will form part of the China - Pakistan Corridor.  
The spread of BRI far exceeds the limits of the original Silk Road as it spreads worldwide.  Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, attended the Bejing Forum and had talks with his Chinese counterpart.  He was the only EU leader to attend the milestone event.  Hungary was the first European country to sign a BRI cooperation agreement with China. Current projects in Hungary include the construction of the 350 km railway linking the cities of Budapest and the Serbian capital Belgrade.  China is to build a huge car plant that will produce electric vehicles in Hungary.  The country's positive approach is in sharp contrast to the collapsing and dysfunctional EU whose weak leaders have been led into a dependence trap by the US. 
Many world leaders attended the BRI Forum in Beijing.  President Putin of Russia was the guest of honour at the celebration event.  In his speech he spoke of forming closer links with the Eurasian  countries and outlined railway developments linking his vast country with the world.  He said that the world today is experiencing revolutionary changes as more countries seek to build a new architecture of international relations that is fairer and based upon mutual respect and mutual benefit. 
Smiles all round as Putin was warmly greeted by Xi Jinping when the two leaders met at the Forum.  Cooperation between the two great nations has never been better.  Cross border infrastructure projects such as the Tongjiang river bridge will help boost trade further. Work is underway to connect China's Northeastern rail network with Russia's Siberian railways. Emphasis was placed on work to link BRI with the Eurasian Economic Union. 
The involvement of BRI in Africa and the Middle East has seen remarkable progress.  A total of 62 States in the region have joined the initiative , most of which have low income and are eager to escape the poverty trap.  A number of key construction projects are starting to have a positive impact.  Five years ago only 40 per cent of Africans had access to electricity and only 33 per cent paved roads. BRI is starting to change all that. The main focus of Chinese investment has been  transport and energy. It is estimated that 10,000 Chinese firms operate  in the region. A typical project is the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway linking landlocked Ethiopia to the sea. To the north, in the Middle East, Syria is joining to participate in creating a corridor linking it to Iran via Iraq.  The opportunity exists to bring prosperity and hope to a whole region destroyed by US imperialism. 
In 2015  NATO member, Turkey, signed a Memorandum of Understanding.  Trade with China is expanding and work is underway to construct rail links to Central Asia and beyond. 
To Washington’s dismay, 21other states in the Americas have joined BRI.  In Argentina the 1310 MW Santa Cruz River Hydroelectric Station is being built with 70 per cent finance from China.  Construction will allow local workers to acquire new skills.  On completion 5,000 direct jobs with a further 15,000 in associated industries will be created.  Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, is not a member but cooperation grows stronger each passing day.  China and Cuba have vowed to deepen practical cooperation.  Joint trade and development initiatives are being pursued in the telecommunications, mining and energy sectors. The successful growth of BRI takes place as US influence declines. 

Re-birth of a Great Nation – The Rise of China

China - the workshop of the world

by John Maryon

Millions of workers were inspired during first half of the 20th Century by the unprecedented growth of the world's first workers’ state. Under the leaderships of Lenin and Stalin the Soviet Union made many historic achievements.
    Revisionism ultimately destroyed the USSR, but the Red Banner is today carried forward by People's China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Vietnam, Laos and Cuba. I would like to examine the impact of the dramatic rise of China under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and its role in the world today.
    The new people's governments in both Russia and China faced similar challenges with peasants and an emerging working class living in near feudal conditions with mass poverty. Each applied Marxism, adapted to their own specific conditions, to build socialism. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC and chairman of the Central Military Commission, was re-elected as President of the People's Republic of China for a further five years at the 2023 National People's Congress. Xi, who comes from a humble background, has remained a man of the people and is well respected in his homeland.
    At the 2023 National Congress, Xi Jinping spoke of the challenges facing the nation and the objectives for the current development period. He said that China would unswervingly advance high quality development on the journey of building a great modern socialist country. The President called for innovation and open development that was green and would benefit everyone. Whilst rural poverty had been eliminated, further efforts were still needed to advance rural revitalisation. He also spoke of the need for self-reliance in the face of US sanctions and called for protecting the nation's security with “A Great Wall of Steel”. He stressed that Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were integral parts of People's China.
    China's GDP grew by three per cent during the last year to 121 trillion Yuan and is planned to rise by 5.2 per cent in the current year as the country emerges from its strict Covid restriction measures. In size its GDP is second only to that of the USA. China will soon surpass the USA, but when population is taken into consideration its per capita value is much less.
    The USA, alarmed at what they see as a challenge to their world domination, have done much to try to undermine China's economy. They have applied sanctions, disrupted supply chains and imposed selfish trade restrictions. No doubt they hoped that companies such as Huawei would be bankrupted, but the company has responded with an ambitious programme of research and development.
    It in the field of space research that China has been able to demonstrate its rapid advance in science and technology. Soil samples have been returned from the Moon and a rover vehicle soft-landed on Mars. Being banned by the USA from the so-called ‘International Space Station’ has not been a problem. They have built their own and are looking forward to working with other nations in its laboratories. Ambitious plans for the near future include the construction of a manned research station, in co-operation with Russia, at the lunar South Pole.
    China’s military expenditure is set to rise by 7.2 per cent in 2023. By comparison, Japan's rise will be over 20 per cent and Germany 17 per cent. China's defence spending remains at 1.5 per cent of GDP compared with four per cent for the USA.
    The Chinese military is being strengthened and modified to meet increased threats of US aggression. The current US spend is 855 billion dollars compared with China's 225 billion dollars. Xi Jinping said last year that China does not want war but that the era of being bullied was over.
    Unlike the USA, China accepts the fact that we live in a multi-polar world. Its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is designed to promote mutually beneficial co-operation and bring peoples together with investment projects that foster trade and development.
    China's foreign minister, Qin Gang, described the BRI as a “high quality public good initiated by China and jointly built by all partners, whose benefits are shared with the world”. The BRI has provided vital infrastructure, created over 420,000 jobs in countries along the route and helped to lift 40 million people out of poverty. The BRI is the world's broadest and largest platform for international co-operation and offers colossal business opportunities on a win–win basis.
    One of the great achievements of the CPC has been to lift billions out of poverty. Life expectancy in its rural regions, including Tibet and Xinjiang, has more than doubled since people's power was established in 1949. After the eradication of absolute poverty in 2020 China has continued to revitalise its rural areas, which have been left far behind the big cities. Residents of rural areas have less disposable income than urban dwellers. As called for by the People's Congress, the building of new rural homes is being accelerated and greater investment in agriculture, rural infrastructure, education, health and social care are being stepped up. Greater efforts are being made to provide greater opportunities for young people to stay in their home villages.
    The USA is stepping up its efforts to cause trouble and create tensions throughout the globe, in order to provoke wars and conflicts that support its own hegemonic ambitions.
    China on the other hand has emerged to become a powerful force for peace and diplomacy. Two important recent examples were as follows.
    Firstly, Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to establish diplomatic relations following a conference hosted by China. This will be a major setback for US imperialism.
    Secondly, China's peace proposals for Ukraine contained in a 12-point peace plan for the Ukraine conflict. China has called for respecting sovereignty, abandoning the Cold War mentality, ceasing hostilities and resuming peace talks. It has also called for resolving the humanitarian crisis, protecting civilians and prisoners of war, keeping nuclear power stations safe, reducing strategic risks, facilitating grain exports and the stopping of all unilateral sanctions while keeping supply chains stable. And as you would expect from China, the promotion of post-conflict reconstruction.
    China's progress in building up its infrastructure has been amazing and has become symbolic of its modernisation. Investments in civil engineering projects, the power network and expansion of the transport network, including rail, air and roads, have been impressive. The total length of China's railways now exceeds 155,000 km, of which 42,000 km are high-speed.
    A further 2,500 km of high-speed links will be added this year. The China–Laos railway, which opened at the end of 2021, has brought economic benefits to both countries, increased trade and encouraged an increase in people-to-people contacts. Regular freight services now operate between China and Europe.
    China is forging new relationships with the multi-polar world. Xi Jinping made an important speech at the recent Dialogue with World Political Party's High-Level Meeting. He called for respect for the diversity of civilizations, underlining the principles of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness. Stressing the importance of the common values of humanity, Xi said: “Peace, development, equality, justice, democracy and freedom are the common aspirations of all people.”
    The president urged countries to keep an open mind in appreciating the perception of values by different civilizations. He called for more people-to-people international exchanges to promote mutual understanding and friendship. He discussed China's path of modernisation and peaceful development that was at variance to the crooked path taken by others in their pursuit of hegemony in a uni-polar world.
    In People's China a great nation has been re-born. A dynamic new political force has emerged, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, which seeks to unite all people and nations to create a beautiful, new multi-polar world. A respectful, peaceful new society based upon Marxism and equal, shared values.

A New Era for World Trade

by John Maryon

We live in the age of state monopoly capitalism in which large corporations, with a monopoly position across a wide range of markets, have become directly connected with government apparatus. Their aim is to use the state and its elected representatives to provide the legal and political frameworks that will enable them to increase their profits. A notable sign of the potential chaos and disorder can be seen in the challenge that exists to capitalist state power by the monopoly capitalists.
    Globalisation, the internationalism of the division of labour, has developed rapidly since the turn of the millennium. It is the product of science, technology and the development of productive forces, and should be at the service of humankind. Everyone should be able to increase their skills, talents and knowledge. But globalisation when put to work by monopoly capitalism is nothing but raw imperialism. Imperialism, through its institutions, has attempted to tighten its grip on the economies of all countries, in particular those of the developing world and others they see as competitive.
    Imperialists will attempt to use extra-governmental organisations such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank to their advantage. They may be able to remove protective restrictions that would limit imports and deregulate internal markets in terms of trade and services. By removing any restrictions on the movement of capital and eliminating export subsidies together with import tariffs that protect the home markets, a strategy of domination becomes effective. Small, poor countries, which are not capable of competing with the rich states, are confined to becoming suppliers of cheap commodities whilst being forced to import expensive manufactured products.
    Imperialist policies have been opposed by larger developing countries such as India and Brazil – at least when their progressive governments have not been replaced by ones that are allies of the USA. The establishment of regional free-trade areas can have the effect of converting groups of countries into mere satellites of primarily US imperialism. It has not only been the developing nations that have been affected but also inter-imperialist rivalry. Japan could have produced a serious challenge to Boeing with civil aircraft and attempts are now being made to prevent Germany buying cheap gas via Nord Stream 2.
    Secret negotiations started in 2014 between the European Union and USA to form the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Provisions would have allowed for full privatisation of the NHS and a reduction in food safety standards to US levels. Also the greater use of pesticides and genetically modified foods would be approved, along with increased monitoring of the Internet. Fortunately, following consumer resistance and strong opposition negotiations came to an end in 2016 and no agreement was signed.
    The suffocating agenda of blatant interference in the affairs of sovereign nations has been condemned by People's China and Russia. An event of major importance that will have a very dramatic impact on international trade and relations was the adoption by the Chinese Government in 2013 of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This global infrastructure development strategy will boost sustainable world trade, raise nations from poverty and increase international co-operation to a new high level unseen in the past.
    The BRI was put forward by President Xi Jinping just over eight years ago. An initiative that aims to build a trade, investment and infrastructure network connecting Asia with other parts of the world, initially along the ancient Silk Road trade route. Since its inception, a total of over 173 countries and international organisations have signed more than 200 co-operative agreements with China under the BRI. Cumulative trade between China and its partners exceeds $9.2 trillion and direct investment more than $130 billion.
    The scope of the mutually beneficial initiative extends far and wide. In addition to its transcontinental route, a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road includes sea lanes linking China to SE Asia, the South Pacific region, the Middle East and the east coast of Africa. Further afield, a number of countries in South America, including Argentina, have signed memorandums of intent. The socialist countries are partners in the project. The BRI aims to improve co-ordination, expand economic development, extend infrastructure connectivity and strengthen financial strategies. Importantly, it will connect more people and build trust, understanding and friendship.
    A typical project has been the recently opened China–Laos high speed railway. An important transport artery that will provide direct links between the land-locked country and Chinese cities and ports, including the opportunity to run goods trains to Europe. The impact of the BRI has been to provide opportunities in many areas including, the Middle East and Africa, which have until recently been regarded as suppliers of commodities. They are empowered to embark upon independent development, free from US diktat. Syria has now joined the BRI and will have a chance to rebuild itself amidst continued aggression and sanctions from greedy immoral Western States. Syria was in ancient times a part of the original Silk Road.
    Another new and important development is the close partnership established between China and Russia. It is a win–win situation for both countries. Russia will have a guaranteed market for its oil and gas, plus important opportunities to sell high-tech products. China will be able to invest in Russia and export manufactured goods. Russia has given full support to the One China policy, and China fully supports Russian efforts to halt the eastward expansion of NATO.
    The socialist countries have been in the front-line of US interference and aggression as they resist attempts to undermine them. Countries such as Cuba have been able to avoid the capitalist crisis but have to suffer economic sanctions from the USA at a time when they are battling COVID‑19 and a loss of tourist trade. But they have a very good friend in China.
    The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), in particular, has shown the possibility of building an advanced socialist economy in the face of US-inspired sanctions. It caters for the economic, social and cultural needs of its people on the basis of self-reliance with no concessions to capitalist institutions.
    China's trade initiatives, along with mutual assistance, will play an important role in increasing the GDPs of the developing world and overcoming the effects of the Covid pandemic. The days of imperialist exploitation are surely numbered. It is the socialist countries that will be able to help the world recover, with fair trade and respect based upon full socialist principles.