Text: Ikan Finance
Sources: All of the information stated in this article is based on reliable sources, and is detailed at the end of the article
After 30 years of hard work, a grand signing ceremony was finally held for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, which marks the construction of a railway between China and Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan across the three countries.
China's infrastructure projects have always performed very well, and it has an unrivaled "Chinese speed", and it also plays a major role in the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway.
However, at this festive moment, Uzbekistan spent a huge amount of money to order six high-speed trains from South Korea, instead of finding China to undertake its high-speed rail project, but what is even more outrageous is that South Korea asks twice as much as China.
So, is this striking reversal to get the mainland to participate in the bidding, or does South Korea really have some special skills? And why can a railway be delayed for nearly 30 years?
The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway has finally "come to fruition"
The construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which has been in the making for 30 years, has finally been officially signed in Beijing, and the railway is clearly intended to further promote economic development between the three countries.
Back in 1994, China and Uzbekistan proposed the idea of building a railway project, and finally three years later, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed a "memorandum of cooperation" to initially plan the railway line.
But imagination is always beautiful, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway has been working hard because of the investment is too grand, because of practical problems such as funds, and it has also been shelved.
Not only that, but there are also two other countries whose geographical location is relatively inland, and the transportation is very inconvenient, which leads to a relatively backward economy, and it is difficult to undertake such a huge infrastructure project independently.
But this more than 500-kilometer railway, but it took 30 years to have such good news, but at this time it faced very big resistance, which came from Russia.
In the process of promoting the whole project, it is not only a test of the country's economic strength, but also Russia's reservations about China's lead in the construction of railways.
In 2019, China and Russia announced that the two sides have fully become a strategic cooperative partnership, and with the continuous improvement of relations between China and Russia, it has also cleared the way for the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project.
It has also made the economic construction of the countries in Central Asia more convenient, and also allowed Uzbekistan to develop rapidly in a short period of time, providing good conditions for the construction of railways.
At the same time, the direction of the construction of this route, which is about 500 kilometers long, from Kashgar in Xinjiang on the mainland to Kyrgyz to Uzbekistan, was confirmed.
It is this railway route that connects the three countries that will directly become the closest route from China to Europe.
Because the other Siberian railway passing through Russia is nearly 1,000 kilometers longer than it, which is at least twice as long as the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, and the time saved is also quite powerful.
Obviously, the significance of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is more than that, it can also be called a mutually beneficial road, which will not only reduce the cost of logistics time, but also make economic and trade exchanges closer.
Not only has it opened up a new source of oil imports, but after the completion of the railway, it will also help the Caspian Sea region to diversify its oil supply after it is exported to China.
The railway will pass through the three countries, and no matter how complex and changeable the terrain is, or how heavy the economic burden, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway plan is still advancing.
Not only that, but the total investment in this railway is estimated to be as high as 8 billion US dollars, which will also be a huge investment for these projects.
Especially in the process of the "Belt and Road" initiative, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway will become a key transportation hub connecting the Central Asian economy.
Another reason why the railway was able to start construction smoothly this time is because after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Russia was severely sanctioned by many Western countries, and in order to ensure that the domestic economy does not collapse, in this case, Russia still bowed its head.
Finally made concessions to the implementation of the railway between China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, but less than a week after the good news of the railway signing, Uzbekistan had to spend twice the price to buy high-speed rail from South Korea.
But South Korea only has one train from Seoul to Busan, and the maximum speed is only more than 200KM trucks, which is far from China's "high-speed rail speed".
A temptation that Uzbekistan could not refuse
Obviously, the railway between China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan is already a big cake, and such a huge infrastructure project will make many countries eye.
All aspects of railway construction are in full swing, but less than a week after the high-speed rail order was signed, Uzbekistan signed an agreement with South Korea on the cooperation of high-speed rail projects.
China, which puts the "speed first" of high-speed rail, does not want to turn around and invest in South Korea, a key project of high-speed rail, which makes many people scratch their heads.
It turned out that it was South Korea that proposed a very attractive cooperation plan to Uzbekistan, which made Uzbekistan unable to refuse at all.
It turned out that in the planning project of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, although the territory of Uzbekistan is only 50 kilometers, South Korea is still "full of sincerity", and even directly opened a preferential way of "zero down payment", and even provided 17 projects with very favorable construction conditions for follow-up services.
Of course, there is another important reason that attracts Uzbekistan, because South Korea has expressed great support for Uzbekistan to become a member of the WTO, and it is obvious that such attractive conditions cannot be bought for any amount of money.
There is a very well-developed cooperation program on this internationally competitive railway, which is based on a deep understanding of Uzbekistan's needs and long-term benefits.
This not only reflects the increasingly fierce international economic competition, but also maintains a leading position in global competition.
However, South Korea's victory in this bid also reflects the fierce competition in the international high-speed rail market.
Although China has not received orders from Uzbekistan, it does not mean that the competitiveness of China's high-speed rail in the international market has weakened.
It is believed that under China's overall strategic layout, we will continue to promote the "Belt and Road", maintain this long-term perspective, and continue to achieve a mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation model, so as to make great contributions to the economic development of the region.
reference
The original article was published on Huasheng Online on 2024-06-11 on "Talking about China's New Economic Opportunities|China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Will Open Up New Routes for Regional Connectivity".
This article was originally published in the Global Times on 2024-06-30 on "China, Japan and South Korea Compete on the Same Stage".
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