The EU has awakened from its slumber, according to EU ambassador Clauss: With the “Global Gateway” infrastructure initiative, Europe wants to assert itself against China’s new Silk Road. Kazakhstan is one of the first flagship projects.
Kazakhstan is Germany’s most important economic partner in Central Asia. The ninth largest country in the world is only sparsely populated, but all the richer in raw materials. Valuable resources that Europe urgently needs to advance the energy transition. If you look at the map, Kazakhstan is located between Europe and China. Both sides are also interested in economic matters.
Kazakhstan is a direct neighbor of China. Both countries share a border that is around 1,800 kilometers long. In the course of the new Silk Road, with which Chinese President Xi Jinping has been investing in the global expansion of trade routes since 2013, Kazakhstan is of great importance on the land route. For example, huge container transfer stations have been created there, which were necessary due to the different track widths of railway lines, explains Hendrik Wehlen, logistics expert at VTG AG, the largest private wagon provider in Europe.
China and Kazakhstan have long been closely intertwined economically. But the West has also recognized the country’s economic potential. After many years in the role of spectator, the EU Commission has now launched its own investment initiative: With “Global Gateway” it wants to mobilize funds of around 300 billion euros by 2027 to set up and expand infrastructure projects in emerging and developing countries . Kazakhstan is at the forefront with projects on green hydrogen and critical raw materials.
Kazakhstan does not have to decide. The German EU Ambassador Michael Clauss explains that third countries could implement different projects with both China and Europe. At first, China was concerned about the European initiative, Clauss explains in the podcast “Wirtschaft Welt
Cooperation instead of confrontation is therefore the means of choice for the Europeans: Both projects could even do more than just coexist, explains the EU ambassador: “Theoretically, it is quite possible that we will cooperate with the Chinese Silk Road project.” However, only under European conditions: For example, one has to keep an eye on the debt sustainability of the respective countries and comply with European standards. So far he doesn’t see that as the case with Chinese projects.
From an economic point of view, the initiative of the EU Commission should not be a project that competes with the new Silk Road, but rather an alternative. Global Gateway puts a focus on green projects and on sustainable cooperations that offer long-term benefits to the partner countries. In concrete terms, this means that jobs should be created for the local population, know-how transferred and environmental standards observed. From a global point of view, for Clauss it is nevertheless “a system competition that manifests itself here”.
