21st Century Wire says…
Without a doubt, the future of trade in Asia, and indeed the Middle East, Europe, Africa – and even for North, South and Central America – will depend heavily on what becomes of China’s expansive One Belt, One Road Initiative.
Xi: China’s new Philosopher King.
Already, it’s emerging as the number one paradigm-busting geopolitical event and will be the world’s largest-ever coordinated single nation infrastructure project. However, one that’s hardly getting a mention in US media – which should indicate just how scared US elites are at present. What Washington, London and Brussels should be worried about is that economic power translates into geopolitical power, as evidenced by Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s recent New Year’s message in which he stated that “China will have a say” on all major international issues, while it actively pushes its Belt and Road project.
For the last decade, China has been seeing steady economic growth, and has built up high gold reserves, but also risks rising levels of corporate debt, as well as some residential and commercial property bubble risks. Nonetheless, it is still preparing for the next growth wave in Chinese exports resulting from the launch of the One Belt One Road.
Russia also stands to benefit greatly from China’s transcontinental ambitions – another reason why Moscow may be looking past the archaic sanctions being leveled by US and EU. This wave is already rolling, and no matter how many proxy wars and ‘ISIS sightings’ the US can muster in places like Pakistan, Thailand or Myanmar, they may slow it down, but in the end they will not be able to stop the One Belt and One Road – which looks to reposition China firmly at the top of the international hierarchy.
But there is still the continued work of eradicating Syria of terrorists, or what writer Frederico Pieraccini colorfully describes as “The Jihad International”:
Until now, China’s support in Syria has been diplomatic and economic.
“The Jihad International, under the economic and strategic guidance of the United States, has recruited tens of thousands of terrorists over the years and sent them to Syria. Among these, a significant number come from the Uighur ethnic group, situated in the autonomous Chinese province of Xinjiang, particularly from the city of Kashgar, geographically located in the extreme west and close to the borders of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.”
Not only is it incumbent on China to secure its plans for One Belt One Road, but also to protect its borders from terrorism, and the return home of “highly trained killers,” according to Pieraccini:
“Official estimates place about 5,000 Chinese Uyghur terrorists in Syria, and Beijing’s strategy has reflected the one already implemented in the Russian Federation. Rather than waiting for highly trained killers to return home, it is better to confront the danger in a foreign land, thereby gaining a strategic and tactical advantage over those financing and manipulating terror, which is to say the American deep state and its military and security apparatus.”
Is it simply a matter of time before China sends military assets to Syria? Read more about this development from Frederico Pieraccini, writing for the online journal Strategic Culture.
READ MORE 2018 PREDICTIONS AT: SHAKE & BAKE: 2018 Trends and Predictions
READ MORE CHINA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire China Files
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