Six Corridors in Chorus of co-operation

The Belt and Road Initiative aims to connect Asia, Europe and Africa along five routes. It will take advantage of international transport routes as well as core cities and key ports to strengthen collaboration and build six international economic co-operation corridors.

(1) The New Eurasia Land Bridge Economic Corridor
Also known as the Second Eurasia Land Bridge, this is an international railway line running from Lianyungang in China’s Jiangsu province through Alashankou in Xinjiang to Rotterdam in Holland.
The China section of the line comprises the Lanzhou-Lianyungang Railway and the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway, and stretches through eastern, central and western China. After exiting Chinese territory, the new land bridge passes through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland, reaching a number of coastal ports in Europe.
China has opened an international freight rail route linking Chongqing to Duisburg (Germany); a direct freight train running
between Wuhan and Melník and Pardubice (Czech Republic); a freight rail route from Chengdu to Lodz (Poland); and a freight rail route from Zhengzhou to Hamburg (Germany). The new rail routes offer rail-to-rail freight transport as well as the convenience of “one declaration, one inspection, one cargo release” for any cargo transported.

(2) The China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor

China, Mongolia and Russia have long established economic ties and co-operation in frontier trade and cross-border co-operation. In September 2014, their three Heads of State agreed to bring together the building of China’s Silk Road Economic Belt, the renovation of Russia’s Eurasia Land Bridge and the proposed development of Mongolia’s Steppe Road.

 (3) China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor
This runs from Xinjiang in China and exits the country via Alashankou to join the railway networks of Central Asia and West Asia before reaching the Mediterranean coast and the Arabian Peninsula. The corridor mainly covers five countries in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) as well as Iran and Turkey in West Asia.
In June 2015, a commitment to “jointly build the Silk Road Economic Belt” was incorporated into a joint declaration signed by China and the five Central Asian countries.

(4) China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor
During the Fifth Leaders Meeting on Greater Mekong Sub-regional Economic Co-operation in Bangkok in December 2014, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang put forward suggestions to deepen the relations between China and the five countries of the Indochina Peninsula.
These include jointly planning and building an extensive transportation network, together with a number of industrial co-operation projects, and promoting sustainable and co-ordinated socio-economic development.
Currently, countries along the Greater
Mekong River are building nine cross-national highways, connecting east and west and linking north to south. A number of these projects have already been completed.

(5) China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
This concept was raised by Premier Li Keqiang during his visit to Pakistan in May 2013. At the time, the objective was to build an economic corridor from Kashgar, Xinjiang, in the north, to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port in the south.
The two governments mapped out a provisional long-term plan for building highways, railways, oil and natural gas pipelines and optic fibre networks stretching from Kashgar to Gwadar Port.
A joint declaration by China and Pakistan in April 2015 said they will proactively advance key co-operation projects, including Phase II of the upgrade and renovation of the Karakoram Highway (the Thakot-Havelian section), an expressway at the east bay of Gwadar Port, a new international airport, an expressway from Karachi to Lahore (the Multan-Sukkur section), the Lahore rail transport orange line, the Haier-Ruba economic zone, and the China-Pakistan cross-national optic fibre network.

(6)Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor
During Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to India in May 2013, China and India jointly proposed building this Corridor. In December 2013, representatives from the four countries held in-depth discussions on development prospects, priority areas of co-operation and co-operation mechanism.

n Summary from Hong Kong Trade Development Research Department, visit http://beltandroad.hktdc.com/en/about-the-belt-and-road-initiative/about...  
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