China, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to build a railroad to Europe bypassing Russia
Xi Jinping promised Asian countries $3.6 billion in financial support and "free aid"
China, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan have agreed to build a railroad that will allow cargo to be delivered to Europe bypassing Russia.
Source. This was reported by Radio Liberty.
The document on the next steps in the implementation of the project, proposed by China last fall, was signed at a summit in Xi'an at the end of last week, where Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the first time with the leaders of five Central Asian post-Soviet countries.
The nearly 500-kilometer highway will shorten the journey to Europe by 7-8 days and bypass Russia, which is "toxic" due to sanctions.
From Uzbekistan, the route is planned to be extended to Turkey with an end point in the EU railroad system. According to preliminary estimates, the volume of transportation on the new highway could reach 5 million tons per year.
Following talks with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, Xi Jinping promised them $3.6 billion in financial support and "free aid," and proposed expanding cooperation in the military sphere.
According to Xinhua, Xi said that China was ready to "strengthen the defense" of the Central Asian republics and improve their security capabilities in order to "guarantee peace in the region."
According to Chinese official statistics, last year, China's trade with the five Central Asian republics of the former USSR amounted to $70.2 billion, and its cargo flow to Europe was 80% transited through these states.
Background. As reported, France will build Europe's largest solar panel plant to reduce energy dependence on China.
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