OneBeltOneRoadInitiative:ItsMeaningandSignificance

The“OneBeltOneRoad”(OBOR)initiative,firstannouncedtotheworldinthefallof2013byPresidentXiJinpingofChina,isanextremelyambitiousandfar-reachinginitiativethatisnoteasytoachieve,buthassignificantpotentialimpacts,improvingthesocialandeconomicstructureofamajorpartoftheworldaroundAsia,Europe,andnortheasternpartsofAfrica,wheremorethanhalfoftheworld’spopulationlives.Itcouldalsohavesignificantimplicationsforpoliticalstabilityandpeaceinthatregion,aswellasforthewholeworld.TheOBORinitiativeproposestoimprovethetransportationinfrastructureamongcountriesinAsia,Europe,andnortheastAfricasothatitcangiverisetocloserandlargereconomic,social,cultural,andpoliticalties.Thisisawin-wininitiativethatshouldbenefitnotonlymorethan50%oftheworld’spopulationlivinginthatregion,butitshouldalsocontributetopoliticalstabilityandpeaceinthewholeworld.

ManyarticleshavebeenwrittenabouttheOBORinitiativeinthelast3+years.Forexample,intheOctober13,2015issueofChina-USFocus,HeYafei,formerViceMinisterofChina’sStateCouncilOfficeofOverseasChineseAffairs,wroteanarticle“ConnectingtheWorldThrough‘Belt&Road’,”inwhichhediscussedglobaleconomicdevelopmentandinternationalgeopoliticalconflicts.HealsoshowedthefollowingmapofOBOR,wherethesolidlineisthelandtransportationinfrastructureandthedottedlineistheseatransportationinfrastructure.

Inthisessay,weprovideasimpleanalogytounderstandthemeaningandsignificanceofOBOR.TheanalogyisapplicabletoanimportantpartoftheOBORinitiative,althoughnotthewhole.

TodosoOBORiscomparedtotheHongKongandBeijingsubwaysystemdevelopmentandtheirimpactsontheirrespectivecommunities.

A.HongKong’sSubwaySystem:

TheHongKong(HK)subwaysystemMTR(MassTransitRailway)wasputintooperationin1979,andhascontinuedtoexpandforalmostfourdecades.Itprovidescomprehensive,rapidtransportation,connectingalmostallpartsofHK.Betweenmostlocations,itallowsonetogofromoneplacetoanotherinamatteroftensofminutes,althoughreachingcertainlocationsmaystillrequireconnectionsbysmallbuses.Thesubwaytrainsstartearlyinthemorningandoperateuntilverylateatnight.Generally,thetrainsarefrequent,fast,clean,safe,andaffordable.Thisallowsgreaterflexibilityandmobilityinseveralmannersincluding,employeemobilityandemployerflexibility,consumerflexibility,andsocialandacademicmobility/flexibility.

Whatthismeansisthatfromtheperspectiveofwork,home,business,education,recreation,social,etc.,HKisbasicallycompletelyinterconnected.Itisnolongeracollectionofmanysmalllocalities,whereone’smajorcircleofinteractionsiswithinasmalllocality.Thishastremendouspositiveconsequencesinincreasingandimprovingeconomicdrivers,socialinteractions,educationopportunities,recreationandculturalactivities,etc.Thedifferenceinthevitalityofthecityfrombeforeandafterthesubwaywasintroducedhasbeendrastic.Ofcourse,HKisnotthefirstexampleofsucheffects.Foralongtime,Paris’sMetrosystemhasbeenanexampleforothercountriestofollow.

B.Beijing’sSubwaySystem:

Beijinghashadasubwayformanyyears.However,itssubwaysystemreallydidnotexpandandbecomemorecomprehensiveuntiltheturnofthe21stcentury.

Inthe1970s,theBeijingsubwaysystemwasverysmall(onlyafewlines)andwasnotasignificanttransportationsystemusedbythemajorityofpeoplelivinginBeijing.

Eveninthe1990swhenthesubwaysystemhadalreadyexpandedagreatdeal,itwasstillnotverycomprehensive.ThemapbelowshowstheBeijingsubwaysystemin1997.

However,sincethen,theBeijingsubwaysystemexpanded(especiallytriggeredbythe2008BeijingOlympics)andhascontinuedtoexpand,nowbeingconsideredacomprehensivesubwaysystem.ThemapbelowshowsthecurrentBeijingsubwaysystemin2017(althoughthismapalsoincludessomeminorplannedexpansionsto2021).

Justfromlookingatthenumberoflinesandstations,youcanseethatithasexpandedgreatlyduringthelast20years.However,itisstillnotnearlyascomprehensiveasParis,butitiscomprehensiveenoughsothatthebenefitsdiscussedintheHKcase(suchasimprovingeconomicbenefits,socialinteractions,educationopportunities,recreationandculturalactivities,etc.)canalsoberealizedinBeijing,inspiteofthefactthatBeijingisamuchlargercitygeographicallythanHK.

TheOBORInitiative:

TheOBORinitiativeissettoimprovetransportationinfrastructure,connectingvariouscountriesinAsia,Europe,andalsoNortheastAfrica.Onecomponentisthelandtransportationinfrastructure(knownastheOneBelt),mostlyviahighspeedtrains.Theotheristheseatransportationinfrastructure(knownastheMaritimeSilkRoad),viatrans-oceanships.OBORofcourseisamuchmoreambitiousanddifficultobjectivethanbuildingacomprehensivemetropolitansubwaysystem,becauseitcrossesnationalboundaries,andinvolvesmanydifferentraces,cultures,religions,languages,economic,andpoliticalsystems.However,preciselybecauseofthelatter,thepotentialbenefitsofOBOR,intermsofregionaleconomicprosperity,politicalstability,andpeaceareevenmoreprevalent.Thepotentialimpactonregional,andperhapsworld,politicalstabilityandpeacegoesfarbeyondthecomparisontoametropolitansubwaysystem.

TheOBORtransportationinfrastructurethatcrossesnationalboundariesshouldalsoleadtoincreasedeconomicactivitiesinvariouscountrieswhentheyexpand/improvetheirinternaltransportationinfrastructuretoconnecttosomeofthekeycentersofOBOR.Forexample,theOneBelthighspeedtraincouldpotentiallyallowRussiatoconnectseveralofitscitiesNorth-ontheTrans-SiberianRailwaytoamajorstopofoneoftheOneBelttrainstations.ThiscouldberepeatedinmorethanonelocationontheTrans-SiberianRailway,andthussignificantlyimprovetheproductivityanduseofthevastandsparselypopulatedSiberia.Similarly,towns/citiesnearamajorportoftheMaritimeSilkRoadcanconnecttheirinternaltransportationinfrastructuretooneoftheseports.

Asmentionedbefore,becauseOBORcrossesnationalboundariesandinvolvespeoplefromdifferentcountriesofdifferentraces,cultures,religions,languages,economicandpoliticalsystems,itwillnotbeeasytomakeitwork.However,preciselybecausedifferentcountriescanreapgreateconomicandsocialbenefitsfromtheOBORinitiative,itprovidesmanygreatincentivesforthedifferentcountriestocollaboratetoovercomeobstacles.Peoplefromdifferentcountrieswill