The New Silk Road has recently become the most famous worldwide Chinese political initiative. Although far from being complete, or even secured, The New Silk Road – providing its success – would present unique opportunities for Poland. It would not only benefit from the short-term economic benefits but could even reverse the effects of its inconvenient geopolitical position.

The New Silk Road: An Introduction

The New Silk Road, or, to be correct, Silk Road Economic Belt/Corridor (later: One Belt One Road) Initiative was announced by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana, in September 2013. During his speech at Nazarbayev university on September 7th 2013, Xi presented five most important policy recommendations: to strengthen policy communication, to improve road connectivity, to promote trade facilitation, to enhance monetary circulation and to strengthen people-to-people exchanges (President Xi Jinping Delivers…). The most important part of his speech came when he urged to “improve traffic connectivity, so as to open the strategic regional thoroughfare from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea, and gradually move toward the set-up of a network of transportation that connects Eastern, Western and Southern Asia”; also, among other things, he urged the relevant countries to “enhance communication and greenlight regional economic integration in terms of both policy and law” and to “promote local-currency settlement” (Xi suggests China…).

Xi's Astana initiative was soon followed by another step. On the 4th of October 2013, while visiting Indonesia and speaking in the parliament, he proposed a parallel initiative: “building a new maritime silk road”, saying that China and ASEAN countries “share a destiny” and would both benefit from this new idea (Xi in call…). The content of Xi's Indonesia speech was similar to the viewpoint presented in Astana (though of course it differed on details): emphasis on a stronger economic cooperation, including financial aspects, very close cooperation on the joint infrastructure projects (e.g., building roads and railways), the enhancement of security cooperation, and the idea of a “21st century maritime Silk Road” through strengthened “maritime economy, environment technical and scientific cooperation (Szczudlik-Tatar, 2013). Since then, Central Asian and Southeast Asian components of New Silk Road became known in both Chinese media and within the expert circles under one slogan: “One Belt and One Road” (the belt being the maritime route whereas the road being the Central Asian one).