Features International Cooperation (part 2) The New Asia-Europe Land Bridge— Current Situation and Future Prospects Xu Shu In September 1990, China’s Bei-jiang Middle East. The line is benefitting the Concept of Line linking Urumqi and Alashankou was development of the regions it serves. New Asia-Europe Land Bridge connected to Kazakstan Railways, At an ASEAN conference in Bangkok in thereby linking Lianyungang and other March 1996, attended by European lead- Regional cooperation and development ports in east China directly by rail with ers, it was stated that Europe and Asia is an important trend in current world Rotterdam, Holland and other European should make a concerted effort to catch affairs. The new economic zone spans ports (Fig. 1). Freight and passenger ser- the favourable tide and redouble their the central land mass of Eurasia from the vices were inaugurated on 1 December efforts to meet the 21st century with new west Pacific coast to the east Atlantic 1992. This New Asia-Europe Land Bridge amicable relations. The meeting called coast. The 10,900-km link is a hugely spans two continents, a link made pos- for increased dialogue, a deepening of important international route uniting over sible by the work of the Chinese govern- economic ties, and increased coopera- forty nations covering 39.7 million km2 ment and ministries, and commercial tion in light of common aspirations and or 26.6% of the world’s land area. The business enterprises. needs. In 1996, the New Asia-Europe population of this area is 2.2 billion, or The completion of the New Land Bridge Land Bridge Railway Regional Economic 36% of the total. not only contributes to the economy of Development Group held an interna- The New Land Bridge has a number of northwest China, it also invigorates the tional conference in Beijing and pointed outstanding and unique characteristics. national economy and contributes to the to the favourable start of an international It runs from the major economic centres nation’s Open Door policy. In addition, economic zone spanning two great con- of Europe to the major economic centres it makes a significant contribution to eco- tinents—Europe and Asia. of Asia, both of which are highly devel- nomic and cultural exchange between oped but lacking in space and natural the Asia-Pacific nations, Europe and the resources. These two poles are con- Figure 1 Route of New Asia-Europe Land Bridge and Trans-Siberian Railway Rotterdam Gdansk Riga Kirov Berlin Brest Skovorodino Warsaw Moscow Sverdlovsk Krasnoyarsk Budapest Tatarsk Chita Bryansk Kujbysev Omsk Novosibirsk Zabajkalsk Irkutsk Manzhouli Nakhodka Aqmola Ulan Bator Vladivostok (Tselinograd) Aktogai Dzamin Uud Erenhot Sol-lletsk Alashankou Beijing Tianjin Urumqi Lianyungang New Asia-Europe Land Bridge Arys Shanghai Trans-Siberian Railway Lanzhou Alashankou traffic catchment area Erenhot traffic catchment area Manzhouli traffic catchment area 30 Japan Railway & Transport Review • December 1997 Copyright © 1997 EJRCF. All rights reserved. nected by an extremely long and narrow Mongolia and other areas. The total popu- Meeting, development of the Railway corridor crossing the belly of the Eurasian lation of this region is 400 million or 30% was included as a top priority in China heartland. of China’s total. It encompasses 3.6 mil- in the 21st Century—A White Paper on With the exception of a few countries, lion km2 or 37% of the national territory. China’s population, environment and the intermediate nations and regions be- This area occupies a very important po- development in the 21st century. tween these two poles are undeveloped. sition in China’s social and economic In 1995, the Chinese government pro- These regions are characterized by trans- development. Remote sensing by satel- mulgated a policy designed to develop portation shortages and a severe natural lites, surveys and aerial prospecting along the zone crossed by Railway reflecting environment, but there is abundant space a swathe of land 100 km wide on both the fact that the Chinese part of the Rail- and resources. Development of these sides of line shows an incredibly rich ter- way has the necessary pre-requisites for regions and their natural resources would ritory with energy resources, ores and future development. Clearly a railway greatly benefit the local people and the minerals. The coal reserves along the line crossing China from east to west, will world as a whole. For example, the re- Railway represent 63.2% of China’s to- promote development of both regions gional coal reserves are estimated to ex- tal estimated reserves. Oil reserves com- and due priority should be assigned to ceed 2000 billion tonnes. Oil reserves prise nearly 40% of the national total, gas opening it up as an international rail cor- are estimated at 150 billion tons, and reserves form fully 50% of all China’s ridor. It is also hoped that the Railway natural gas at 750 billion cubic feet—no known reserves. Metal reserves include will become an international business wonder this region is called ‘the world’s vast amounts of gold (40%), nickel venture, marked by open-style develop- energy supply.’ For this reason alone, the (76.9%), bauxite (60.3%), and copper ment along the corridor. New Land Bridge is extremely important (30%). Chemical products and construc- just in economic terms. tion materials stand at roughly 40%–70% Current Status of Over the span of history, Eurasia has been of the nation’s total. The agricultural rim Transportation on Railway blessed with a long and fruitful tradition around the Railway is also extremely fer- of economic and cultural exchange and tile, level and broad; soils are rich, sun- Completion of the Railway greatly cooperation. The conceptual basis for shine and water are plentiful. The annual strengthened China’s freight links with the New Land Bridge can be found in the amount of underground water that can Central and West Asia and Europe, fa- historic Silk Road, which connected the be tapped in northwest China totals 112.4 cilitating diversified transport and accel- great civilizations of Europe and Asia over billion m3. More importantly, the water erated economic development of all 2000 years ago. The economic and cul- quality is high and the quantity is stable. countries along the Railway. The Rail- tural development and international co- If one takes a frank and honest look at way is highly appreciated and vigorously operation along the route of the Silk the part of mainland China crossed by promoted by the governments, busi- Road, played a vital role in the classic the Railway, the economic and man- nesses, education, and media of all civilizations of mankind. It also left a power resources are still backward and related countries, including China. How- lasting legacy influencing the arts and limited, largely for historic reasons. The ever, in terms of actual freight movement, culture of pre-modern and contemporary production structure is not rational, thus it is far from reaching its potential despite civilizations. Even today, the Silk Road limiting China’s overall economic devel- a steady increase in usage, and needs is an important spiritual link between opment. Consequently, speedy opening more development. In 1993 and 1994 Europe and Asia. Consequently, the New up and development of this region is a combined, the line carried only 111 TEU Asia-Europe Land Bridge Railway is serious priority of the Chinese govern- (standard 20-foot containers); 1995 saw sometimes called ‘The Modern Silk ment, which is devising careful policies 257 TEU, and the total increased to Road.’ In the future, the Railway will play appropriate to the region. 12,000 TEU in 1996. Most of these con- an important role in expanding economic After international traffic started moving tainer shipments were headed to and cultural exchange, and will promote over the rails, it was decided in 1993 to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan but there was further development in Europe and Asia. lay more track to open up and develop virtually no east-bound freight. The vol- Within China, the Railway covers 4131 the region. By 1994, the Railway had ume of freight carried by other routes km passing through Jiangsu, Shandong, become a top development priority between Europe and Asia is huge, so why Anhui, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, project within the guidelines of the 1991 is so little transported along the Railway? Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, and influenc- United Nations Environment and Devel- Research into this question has high- ing nearby Hubei, Sichuan, Inner opment Meeting. To accord with this lighted the following problems: Copyright © 1997 EJRCF. All rights reserved. Japan Railway & Transport Review • December 1997 31 International Cooperation (part 2) Monument at Lianyungang reading ‘The Eastern Terminal of the New Eurasia Passenger and freight trains passing on Trans-Siberian Railway (a major Continental Railway’ (M. Saito) competitor of the New Asia-Europe Land Bridge) at Irkutsk (TASS) Different land and sea freight 10,900 km. In other words, the Railway ing to China’s Ministry of Foreign Trade, tariffs is about half the distance of the sea route. three problems are restricting develop- The Chinese section of the Railway from Furthermore, trains are faster than ships. ment of the Railway. Lianyungang to Alashankou covers 4131 Consequently, the land route should rep- • Alashankou has inadequate facilities; km. Rail freight costs calculated at Chi- resent a huge saving in time, but it doesn’t transfer capacity and storage are lim- nese rates total about US$850 per TEU. work out that way. Currently, the speed ited. In early 1996, over 4000 rail car- Miscellaneous fees, port fees, handling of rail freight in China is very slow, and riages were backed up in Kazakhstan fees, etc., total another US$1100.