Tianshan.com reporter Lu Fengshang
The National Development and Reform Commission recently released a message that at present, the survey and mapping of the key plan of China-Jijiwu Railway has been completed, and other work such as geological exploration is being carried out in an orderly manner according to the established work plan. If progress goes smoothly, it is expected that the field survey can be completed before the end of the year, and all feasibility study work will be completed by the end of June 2023 as planned.
After the completion of the China-Jiangxi-Ukraine Railway, it will not only help improve the overall transportation network of Eurasian continent, change the transportation pattern of China, Central Asia and even the Middle East, but will also play a huge role in promoting the formation of a new development pattern in Xinjiang and leveraging the economic development of China, Central Asia and even Europe.
20 years of planning to take a strong step
"my country opens westward, and Xinjiang is the forefront, and Central Asian countries adjacent to Xinjiang are an important way to open up to the westward." said Wang Hailing, associate professor of the School of Economics and Management of Xinjiang University and president of the Xinjiang Logistics Society.
China-Europe freight train gathered at at Horgos Port (photo taken on June 16, 2021). Photo by reporter Zhou Peng (data photo)
The land routes that connect my country and Europe mainly include three interconnected areas: east, central and western regions. The eastern and central channels leave the country from Manzhouli , Erlianhot , Suifenhe Port , and finally arrive in Europe via Russia, Poland . This is also the traditional Eurasian continental bridge route.
In the early 1990s, the railway line from Lianyungang through Xinjiang through Kazakhstan and Russia, and directly to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was formed, forming the New Eurasian Continental Bridge.
On March 19, 2011, the first "Yuxin Europe" international freight train was launched from Chongqing, and after leaving the country through the Alashankou port, it arrived in Duisburg, Germany, opening the prelude to the innovative development of China-Europe freight trains. The main routes of my country-Europe freight trains are from the eastern, central and western channels, and the exit ports of the western channels are Alasan Pass and Horgos .
Since the "Belt and Road" initiative was proposed, the number of China-Europe freight trains has been increasing year by year. Taking the trains passing through Xinjiang as an example, more than 50,000 inbound and outbound trains have been passed, with an average annual growth rate of 68%.
"After years of operation, the traffic capacity of the Alashan Pass and Horgos ports needs to be improved intelligently." Wang Hailing said, "As for Xinjiang itself, there is no railway port in southern Xinjiang. If goods exported to the west are transported by train, they must detour Urumqi and then exit the country through the above ports, which is relatively expensive."
The comprehensive channel of the New Eurasian Continental Bridge can no longer meet the needs. Under this circumstance, the China-Jiangxi-Ukraine Railway has once again entered people's vision.
In fact, as early as 25 years ago, the China-Jiangxi-Ukraine Railway Construction Plan was first proposed by the "Europe-Caucasus-Asian Transport Corridor (TRACECA)". In the same year, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed a memorandum of cooperation on the construction of the China-Kyrgyz-Ukraine Railway. Since then, the three countries have continuously promoted the railway project to speed up the progress.
Just in September, China, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on China-Kyrgyzstan-Ukraine Railway Construction Project (District of the Kyrgyzstan-Ukraine Railway), and the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Ukraine Railway has taken another solid step.
is expected to form a new land-sea channel
For thousands of years, in Xinjiang, located in the hinterland of Asia and Europe, the sound of camel bells accompanied by caravans crossing the desert and Gobi, closely connecting China with the economies and cultures of Asian and European countries.
The first cross-border e-commerce train in southern Xinjiang drove out of the Kashgar Railway dedicated line. Photo by Yang Le (data photo)
"The China-Jiangxi-Ukrainian Railway passes through is precisely one of the main sections of the ancient Silk Road . Because the ancient Silk Road is suitable for camel fleet transportation at that time, it has driven the commercial logistics system along the way, and thus driven the local differentiated industrial development.The China-Jiangxi-Ukraine Railway can not only reduce the transaction costs of East and West , but also accelerate the promotion of cooperation and development between international and regional areas. "Zhu Shisong, a member of Xinjiang think tank, said.
. Wang Bing, deputy dean of the School of Transportation Engineering, Xinjiang University, said that once the China-Jiangxi-Ukraine Railway is completed, it will not only build the southern access of the New Eurasian Continental Bridge, but also establish a new land-sea channel, improve the overall transportation network of the Eurasian continent, and realize the diversification of transportation lines and models in the Eurasian continent.
. On September 15, the first China-Jiangxi-Ukraine "High-Railway-Rail Intermodal" international freight train departed at Chengdu (Shuangliu) Air-Rail International Freight Port. The train was the entire journey. The container "rail-highway" international multimodal transport method is adopted, and the car transport export is converted to Uzbekistan via Ilkishtan port to a car transport export destination.
The China-Jiji-Ukraine "road-rail transport" train is no longer a new thing. This transportation model has also become a useful supplement for the departure of China-Europe freight train through the Alashankou port and the Horgos port.
"If the China-Jiji-Ukraine railway is completed, then the train can enter Central Asia and Europe through the railway, forming a new channel. "Wang Hailing said.
Not only that, some Central Asian countries are inland countries and have no sea outlets. Their products can enter Xinjiang via the China-Jiangxi-Ukraine Railway, and then go to sea through Hotian , Ruoqiang , Chongqing, Chengdu, Guangxi, and then go to sea through Southeast Asia and other places, or go to sea through eastern coastal ports in my country. Similarly, products in Southeast Asia and other places can also follow this route and enter westward after entering the country. "This is a new land-sea channel, and the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road will be closely connected through this channel. "Wang Hailing said.
Yan Guojiang, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and dean of the School of Marxism of Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics, believes that the China-Jiangxi-Ukraine Railway is centered on Kashgar and can be connected to the southwest region and radiate to the southeast coast. After the Kashgar-Guadar Port Railway and Lhasa-Katmandu Railway are completed, they will be connected to the Zhonglao Railway , China-Thailand Railway , etc. The goods from Guangzhou, Haikou and other places can reach Xinjiang through the southwest and northwest, and then to Europe, forming a new large channel and radiating to a wider area.
Xinjiang will become the fulcrum for the economic development of Asia and Europe
On September 25, vehicles were queuing up in , Kashgar Comprehensive Bonded Zone. Relying on Kashgar's unique location advantage of "five ports to eight countries, all the way to Europe and Asia", there are often traffic and traffic in Kashgar Comprehensive Bonded Zone.
On October 30, 2018, multimodal transport of goods from Kashgar Comprehensive Bonded Zone entered the area. (Expand piece)
From January to August, Kashgar Comprehensive Bonded Zone achieved import and export trade volume of 12.3 billion yuan, breaking the 10 billion yuan mark for the first time, an increase of 10.1 times year-on-year.
The economic development cannot be separated from the convenience of transportation, and the movement of personnel cannot be separated from the speed of transportation. The China-Jiangxi-Ukraine Railway provides more possibilities for Kashgar and other southern Xinjiang regions.
"As an important open city in southern Xinjiang, Kashgar has a higher degree of modernization of its basic configuration than surrounding cities. In the future, Kashgar will become the intersection of China-Pakistan Railway and China-Jiangxi-Ukraine Railway, and has the potential to become a trade hub connecting Central Asia, West Asia and Europe. "Zhu Shisong said.
"The China-Jiangxi-Ukraine Railway not only has a great promoting effect on Kashgar and southern Xinjiang. "Yan Guojiang said that after the railway is completed, it will change the transportation pattern in Xinjiang and even the western part of my country, and promote the sea-land linkage and integrated development of the construction of the "Belt and Road". It will not only make Xinjiang's "core area" more prominent, but also make Xinjiang an important hub for global land transportation and trade exchanges.
Xinjiang has unlimited development potential and many opportunities. In the interview, experts and scholars suggested that Xinjiang should make arrangements in advance, plan ahead, and make various preparations.
"In the future, the railway channels connecting east-west and north-south from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, from the Indian Ocean to Arctic Ocean will meet in Xinjiang, and Xinjiang is expected to become an important fulcrum for leveraging the economic development of Asia and Europe."Wang Hailing said that taking channel construction as the starting point, trade as the guide, industrial aggregation as the driving force for development, and humanities as the basis to seize the opportunity of the large land channel hub, the future of Xinjiang is more worth looking forward to.
