The days when China’s exports mainly depended on jeans and toys are long gone. China’s export-oriented economy now has a new name card: high speed railway technology. To say that the development of China’s high speed railway since 2008 is a success story is an understatement. It is a miracle in itself. In just seven (2008-2015) years, China has developed the longest network of high speed railway (about 16,000 km with the expectation of adding another 16,000 km by 2020) in the world as well as some of the best technologies related to high speed railway development. Besides its obvious economic and technological successes, China’s high speed railway also has huge foreign policy implications in three ways.
First and foremost, China’s high speed railway can help its foreign policy in facilitating the ambitious ‘one belt, one road’ strategy. The core of China’s ‘one belt, one road’ strategy is interconnectivity, which is exactly what high speed railway can help achieve. China is now in talks with 28 countries, Russia and Thailand among them, about cooperation in high speed railway technology. Many of these countries are key players in the ‘one belt, one road’ plan. China’s Permier Li Keqiang has actively promoted China’s high speed railway technology in many different visits with some success. Thus, it is no exaggeration that the success of China’s ‘one belt, one road’ strategy depends on China’s high speed railway diplomacy.
Second, high speed railway can enhance China’s national security, particularly in its northwestern and southwestern regions. There is already a rail line connecting Urumqi, capital city of the restive Xinjiang province, and Lanzhou, another strategically important city in Northwest China. This can help the Chinese government combat domestic terrorism which is on the rise in Xinjiang. This rail line will be further extended to Central Asian countries, and eventually will be connected to European cities, thus shortening the distance of trade and psychology between China and Europe. This is of great importance especially as the United States has shifted its strategic attention back to Asia. To avoid direct confrontation with the U.S. in the Asia Pacific, China’s ‘March West’ strategy is a smart choice and high speed railway diplomacy is a major part of this ‘March West’ strategy. In addition, key countries like Thailand and Laos will be connected to the central city of Kunming in Southwestern China. If successful, this rail line will give China tremendous strategic advantage and even dominance in parts of Southeast Asia.
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