From China Railway Express to China–Pakistan Economic Corridor: the ‘Belt & Road’ Initiative is driving globalization

On Oct 12, 2017, Center for China and Globalization (CCG) co-held a conference surrounding the issue ‘From China Railway Express to China–Pakistan Economic Corridor: the ‘Belt & Road’ Initiative is driving globalization’ with Social Sciences Academic Press and Southwest Jiaotong University. During the conference, Professor Gao Bai from Duke University published his two new books Political Economic Analysis of China–Pakistan Economic Corridor and China Railway Express: the Building of Nation and Market. The conference is to summarize the hitherto achievements of the “Belt & Road” Initiative and introduced the issues and points of improvement in the future implementation of the initiative.

Dr. Wang Huiyao, the President of CCG addressed the opening speech, where he expressed recognition of the “Belt & Road” Initiative. As he pointed out, more and more countries now show support for the initiative, but the initiative itself still has many aspects to improve. With the issues in mind, the conference, targeting at facilitating the discussion on these issues, would be beneficial to the future implementation of the initiative.

Professor Gao Bai’s new book The Political Economic Analysis of China- Pakistan Economic Corridor explores the domestic institutions of Pakistan and their interaction with the development of the corridor from the perspectives such as international relations, political institutions, foreign investment, logistics, nongovernmental organizations, public communication, economic geography and terrorism. Another book,China Railway Express: the Building of Nation and Market, probes the reason why government subsidy China Railway Express at the initial stage of its development from the standpoint of the relationship between nation building and market building.

At the conference, Professor Gao Bai shared with the guests present the inspirations of the two books. In terms of the economic corridor, based on the cases of business people from Middle East in Yiwu, he believes that economic development could effectively eliminate terrorism. Additionally, he recognizes the importance of the economic corridor in narrowing the developmental gap in Pakistan. In his mind, China should ensure that economic benefits would be shared by all, instead of by only a small number of people.

With regard to China Railway Express, according to Professor Gao Bai, its value far exceeds economic gains. It can balance the trade between China and Europe so that Europe can be motivated to cooperate more with China. As a tool for industry development, China Railway Express itself does not have many added values, but without it, trade, investment and other economic cooperation of China and countries in Eurasia cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, China Railway Express is influential and indispensable.

Editor Assistant at Social Sciences Academic Press, Tong Genxing mentioned that the Press has been cooperating with Professor Gao Bai for years. The Press is dedicated to economic and societal issues that are of enormous importance and therefore he appreciates the academic values and practical significance of the new books of Professor Gao Bai.

During the discussion session, Professor Lei Shaohua from College of International Relations at Peking University points out the importance of China Railway Express to China’s domestic society in several aspects. Firstly, China Railway Express now is not limited to cargos but also carries passengers. Also, it shows the capacity of the Chinese government in mobilizing a large number of resources and labors. Lastly, motivated by the demand for skilled talents, China Railway Express implicitly improves the education in China.

Professor Shen Yuan from Tsinghua University remarks on the two books from a more academic viewpoint. He admires that Professor Gao Bai adopts a standpoint of economic, sociology and offers new interpretations of the relationship between nation building and market building. Also, his economic, sociological viewpoint challenges the concept of rationality employed in classical economics and extends our understanding of what rationality can mean.

Professor Wei Yuguang offers insight into the practical aspect of the construction of China Railway Express. In his opinion, the advantage of China Railway Express lies in that the cost of it is relatively low and it is less obstructed by weather conditions, which can ensure its long period operation. Also, he reminds that we should not only pay attention to the economic benefit of China Railway Express but its influence on all aspects of society.

In addition, Li Chongyu, the General Manager of CRIMT, deems only China Railway Express could ensure international logistics at a low cost. Since the inception of it, the number of trains that are currently operating has reached 5000, which is remarkable. He also emphasizes during the discussion that those companies of railway construction should identify its status in the global market and coordinate with other governments and other companies in railway construction.

After the discussion, the guests and media also exchanged opinions on issues such as the prospect of the economic corridor, geographical impact, the connection to the local economy and the potential challenges in the “Belt & Road” Initiative.