One Belt One Road: What Is Involved?
The One Belt One Road initiative was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. It is a massive trade
and infrastructure project that aims to link China physically and financially to dozens of economies across Asia,
Europe, Africa, and Oceania.
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To promote economic prosperity of the countries along the belt and road and regional economic
cooperation.
To strengthen exchanges and mutual learning between different cultures.
To promote world peace and development.
As of January 2018, 71 countries (including China) representing a third of the world’s GDP are taking part in the
project. It consists of two parts:
1) The “Belt,” an overland route of roads and railways, which recreates the old Silk Road land route.
2) The “Road,” which is not actually a road, but a maritime route through various oceans.
As part of the initiative China has invested at least $900 billion (£635 billion) in key infrastructure projects:
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Rail links connecting China with Central Asia, Iran, Russia and Western Europe (belt).
Oil and gas pipelines in Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan and developing economic corridors in Pakistan,
Myanmar and Malaysia.
In 2016, China also established the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, an international development
bank to help finance infrastructure projects in region. Although many European governments joined,
including UK, Germany, and France, the USA did not.
Projects along the maritime silk road are all concerned with deep water port developments. The ports
form a half circle ringing India which is not a signatory to the One Belt One Road initiative.
China's ‘One Belt, One Road’: The Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean, the 3rd largest body of water in the world, is becoming an area of competition between two of
the world’s largest economies and potential superpowers, China and India. They are competing for power and
influence, not directly by military means but through the indirect channels of trade and aid (soft power). The pawns
in the game are the developing countries scattered around the Indian Ocean Basin: Pakistan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh and Myanmar.
This article examines the geo-political significance of China’s One Belt One Road initiative.
What Is at Stake?
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The Indian Ocean provides critical sea trade routes that connect the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia with
the broader Asian continent to the East and Europe to the West.
It contains a number of the world’s most important strategic chokepoints, including the Straits of Hormuz
and Malacca through which more than 50 percent of the world’s maritime oil trade passes. (a strait is a
narrow passage of water connecting two seas – because they are narrow, they are vulnerable to being
blocked off by hostile powers)
The region itself is believed to be rich with energy reserves. Nearly 40% of the world’s offshore petroleum is
produced in the Indian Ocean.
Coastal beach sands and offshore waters host heavy mineral deposits, and fisheries are increasingly
important for both exports and domestic consumption.
India imports around 80% of its energy, mostly oil from the Middle East.
In 2012, 84% of China’s imported energy resources passed through Strait of Malacca (separating Sumatra
from the Malaysian mainland) from the Indian Ocean in 2012.
China and India are heavily dependent on energy resources transported along the sea-lanes in the Indian Ocean
to fuel their economies. As these economies grow, demand for energy and other resources will increase and so
the safe transport and secure supplies of those resources will become increasingly important.
Both countries have launched development initiatives in the region, seeking to strengthen ties with smaller
regional states to secure their respective security and economic interests. However, it is China, with its One Belt
One Road (OBOR) programme that has made the most headway.
Strait of Hormuz
Malacca Strait
The Geography of the One Belt One Road
The project is often described as a 21st century silk road, made up of a “belt” of overland corridors (road and rail)
and a maritime “road” of shipping lanes.
‘Belt’
Beijing
China
Xi’an
China
Urumqi
China
Khorgas*
China
Gwadar
Pakistan
Astana
Kazakhstan
Kazan
Russia
Moscow
Russia
Tashkent
Uzbekistan
Anaklia
Georgia
Tehran
Iran
Ankara
Turkey
Istanbul
Turkey
Duisberg
Germany
Rotterdam
Netherlands
Bold = Start point
Quanzhou
Haikou
Singapore
Kyaukphyu
Colombo
Gwardar
Mombasa
Djibouti
Suez
Piraeus
Venice
‘Road’
China
China
Singapore
Myanmar
Sri Lanka
Pakistan
Kenya
Djibouti
Egypt
Greece
Italy
Gas and Oil Pipelines
1. Atyrau
Kazakhstan
1. Dushanzi
Xinjiang
2. Ashkabat
Turkmenistan
2. Almaty
2. Shanghai
Turkmenistan
China
3. Taishet
3. Irkustsk
3. Daqing
Russia
Russia
China
* At Khorgos the ‘belt’ splits into four main branches. (also known as Khorgos, Chorgos, Gorgos, Horgos)
OBOR: Analysis tasks
Q1: Using three different colours to represent the ‘Belt’ of overland transport, ‘Road’ of maritime transport, and the
geostrategic cities that the gas and oil pipelines pass though, locate the cities from the table above, plot them on the
map first, and only after you have done this connect them up using a logical route. For the ‘belt’, at Khorgos (also
known as Chorgos, Gorgos, Horgos) it splits into four main branches – can you work out what the most logical routes
are?
Q2: Add the following labels to the various ‘Belt’ routes:
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China-Central Asia-West Africa economic corridor
China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor
China-Pakistan economic corridor
New Eurasia land Bridge economic corridor
Q3. Read the article ‘China’s developing world role: The new Silk Road?’
Q4: Succinctly summarise, in one paragraph, the main features of OBOR
Q5: Why might China be investing so heavily in countries like Pakistan in Asia, and Djibouti in Africa?
Q6: What is the geopolitical significance of OBOR? Write a paragraph on each of the following:
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Politico-economic power
Cultural/soft power
Geographical power