95
Development
203
as: “putting the remaining economic
development capacity of the eastern coastal areas to improve
the level of economic and social development in the western
region and consolidate national defense.” While its
improving economy was depended on exports for 30 years,
Chinese industry had to meet its energy needs from abroad
and could easily get affected by global crises in the West.
Therefore, Chinese state has been forced to adopt a growth
model based on domestic consumption and a strategy to
expedite investments abroad and purchasing due to recent
global crises and shifts.
Relatively successful in dealing with various
domestic and international issues, Chinese Communist Party
has been able to keep track of global developments. Since its
accession to the World Trade Organization, it has been
competing against Western powers in global finance and
acquisition of resources. As China’s colonial policies in
Afria are being spoken of in the West (Kasongo, 2011),
China has had serious territorial disputes with its neighbors
(Elleman and Schofield, 2015: XIV). Predicaments with
allies of the USA such as Japan, Vietnam and Philippines led
to isolation of China in the Eastern and Southern Asia and a
blockade by these powers. Elected as the leader of CCP on
15th November 2012 and as President of People’s Republic
of China on March 2013, Xi Jinping began to implement
totally different new strategies than his predecessors as the
most powerful and nationalist leader to take over since Mao.
“Neighborhood Diplomacy/周边外交” that was adopted in
this period aimed to form more active blocs and make China
a decisive actor in the region in order to develop relations
with neighboring countries and groups in harmony (Chang,
2016: 83). One of the strong and significant pillars of this
diplomacy is “New Silk Road Project/Xin silu 新丝路”.
Having set up a united, unified and strong China ideal under
the title “Chinese Dream/Zhongguo meng- 中 国 梦 ”, Xi
mobilized all educational and cultural institutions to make
Chinese people to adopt this ideal.
203
Ten years of China’s Western Development strategy, aspect for future
growth “Opening” 西部大开发战略实施十年 未来发展转向“开放
”http://www.chinawest.gov.cn/web/NewsInfo.asp?NewsId=55943 , access
20.02.2017.
96
China’s Silk Road
Today a majority of Chinese scientists and some
Westerners agree that the Silk Road came into being after
Chinese General Zhangqian ( 张 骞 ) was sent by Han
Emperor Wudi ( 汉 武 帝 ) to the region where today’s
Turkistan is located in order to build alliance with various
seigniories against Huns in 138 B.C. (Karlık, 2014: 57).
However, the term Silk Road is more recent. It was used for
the first time by German inventor Ferdinand von Richthofen
(1833-1905) in 1877 (Seidenstraße) and became more
common in the West as well as in the East (Tezcan, 2014:
97).
Historical data later showed that this “road” was
built as a security measure in order to weaken and even
destroy Huns who were posing great threat to the Chinese
but it also helped them develop multi-dimensional relations
with Western countries and communities. However, China
had to secure its trade routes to export their production
surplus to the West in order to accomplish this goal. That’s
why the Silk Road is also known as a trade route. On the
other hand, having reached the borders of Turkistan’s
southeastern border after conquering a large section of
Eurasia, Alexander the Great (B.C. 356-323) developed ties
and relations, which indeed contributed to the road’s
expansion.
Having existed from 2
nd
Century B.C. to 1800s, the
Silk Road played crucial role in establishing interaction from
east to west and north to south, connecting various
communities in different regions who were from different
linguistic, religious and cultural backgrounds and enabling
communications of various kinds. Cultures similar to that of
China’s that were strong in terms of durability and
assimilation developed continuously by influencing and
assimilating other cultures on Silk Road route while some
disappeared by not being able to do so (Karluk, 2014: 56).
To sum up, the Silk Road was made in China and it
was an historical phenomenon that was embraced by other
communities and nations on its route or further away from it.
The historic Silk Road did not only provide for China as a
road that created income, wealth by marketing surplus
97
products as well as commercial and cultural exchange. It
also enabled a route that would make it possible to create
safe zones in order to protect its territory and minimize
threats and to influence and transform people living outside
its borders. In fact, products made of silk and precious
stones that were exported to the West became significant
tools of politics besides their commercial value as well as
signs of Western fondness of luxury. Many settled
communities like China possessed and utilized luxury
consumption goods particularly in order to dominate
nomadic and “barbaric” tribes nearby or far away to which
they could give them as political gifts and from which they
could recruit soldiers. When a Hun or Turkish nobleman
arrived in a Chinese palace, Chinese emperors or rulers
would do the same in order to win their hearts (Tezcan,
2014: 99). That’s why Bilge Khan particularly advised on
his inscriptions that one should not be fooled by China’s soft
silk.
China’s New Silk Road Project
While China has been taking necessary diplomatic
steps in the last decade in order to build the New Silk Road
that is planned to extend from where Russians call Central
Asia and Turks call Turkistan to Europe over Iran, it has also
made considerable progress. Iranian and Arabian Peninsula
are of vital importance both for this project and for Chinese
economy in general as well as its energy resources and
transport lines. In short, China has been acting confidently
while it is planning to carry out significant and concrete
actions in Turkish-Islamic geography.
After Xi Jinping consolidated his power as CCP
Secretary General, President and Commander in Chief in
2013, he developed a new geo-political strategy that brought
together current tenets of the foreign policy and a newer
approach (Zhao 2014: 27). The goal of this strategy was to
pave the way for new trade deals and investment
opportunities for China’s red capitalism as well as to save
China from the strategic blockade of the USA and its allies.
The project known as Silk Road Economic Belt/Sichouzhilu
jingjidai-丝绸之路经济带 and 21st Century Maritime Silk
Road/Ershiyi Shiji Sichou zhilu-二十一世纪海上丝绸之路
or One Belt One Road (OBOR 一 带 一 路 -Yi dai Yilu)
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