The past two decades of rapid economic growth in China have transformed it into a superpower. With the coming to power of a new leadership led by Xi Jinping, the PRC has stopped hiding its foreign policy ambitions. The project to create the New Silk Road is a logical continuation of China's policy in recent years. The first steps to realize the dream have already been taken: financial resources have been allocated and agreements have been developed with key countries. The plan also has several opponents from among the major world powers. By implementing the project, China will solve not only a number of internal problems, but will also have a global impact on the economic picture of the world. How will the New Silk Road go?
Grand Plan
Not long ago, Foreign Minister Wang Yi defined the “One Belt, One Dream” concept for China’s foreign policy, according to which it is planned to build a New Silk Road from Asia to Europe. At the beginning of 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping presented a plan to create the Silk Road. As part of the project, it is planned to form a giant single economic belt consisting of infrastructure facilities in many countries. The New Silk Road will pass along Central Asia, Russia, Belarus, Europe. The sea route will follow the Persian Gulf, Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. An option with routes through African countries is being considered.
The PRC is going to invest more than $40 billion in the project from a special fund. $50 billion has already been allocated by the Asian Bank. The funds will be used for the construction of railways, ports and other facilities, and for the development of relations between the countries participating in the project. The Wantchinatimes resource estimated the total investments of the PRC at $22 trillion.
Attempts to revive the Silk Road have already been made by Europe and the United States. China was the last to address this idea, but has done much more to implement it. Thanks to impressive financial capabilities and “soft economic aggression,” it will be possible to create a safe transit that will be used by many states. Today, China is actively discussing infrastructure construction projects with participating countries. A more specific scheme for the new Silk Road and the results of lengthy negotiations will become known in late March at the Boao Forum (South Chinese province of Hainan).
Silk Road concept
Today, China supplies electrical and high-tech products to the world market. In terms of length (16 thousand km), the country ranks first in the world. The ancient Silk Road was exclusively a Chinese transport corridor. Today, the PRC announces the creation of an international economic platform.
The initiative to unite the Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is being carried out within the framework of the One Belt, One Road program. The concept of the New Silk Road is to implement the plan through five interrelated elements:
- unified infrastructure;
- political coherence;
- monetary and financial flows;
- trade relations;
- humanitarian communication.
On this basis, full-scale cooperation is promoted, strengthening mutual trust between countries, developing economic integration and cultural tolerance. The implementation of the project as a whole was planned along three routes:
- "China - Central Asia - Russia - Europe".
- "China - Central and Western Asia".
- "China - Southeast Asia - South Asia".
New Silk Road. Route
The scale of the project is impressive not only in terms of investment, but also in terms of geography. The entire “path” is divided into two routes (by land and by sea). The land route begins in Xi'an (Shaanxi province), passing through the whole of China, follows to the city of Urumqi, crosses such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey. Then it goes through the Bosphorus Strait to Eastern Europe, to Russia. The New Silk Road, the route of which will pass through the territory of several European countries, will proceed from Rotterdam to Italy.
An equally grandiose sea route begins in the city of Quanzhou (Fuzqian Province), follows through large southern Chinese cities, through the Strait of Malacca, ending in Kuala Lumpur. Crossing Indian Ocean, stops in Colombo (Sri Lanka), in the Maldives, reaches Nairobi (Kenya). Next, the route passes along the Red Sea through Djibouti, through Suez Canal goes to Athens (Greece), to Venice (Italy) and connects with the land Silk Road.
Economic tasks of the “path”
As a major exporter, China influences the global economy in many ways. According to forecasts, the Silk Road is expected to generate $21 trillion in trade turnover per year, which could increase China's share of global GDP to 50%.
It is assumed that the New Silk Road, the construction of which is already in full swing, will redirect the flow of exports of goods and capital to regions that until recently remained outside of international trade. In recent decades, China has been actively cooperating with Asian countries. Investments allocated by Chinese state-owned companies are for many developing countries perhaps the only opportunity to maintain independence among the great powers.
From an economic point of view, the benefit of the project for China lies in the reduction of logistics costs. For countries participating in the Silk Road - in attracting additional funds. An example of such cooperation based on Chinese investments is the iHavan project on Maldives(in the future this will be one of the important points on the map of the maritime Silk Road).
Regional tasks
China's presence in Central Asia and Africa is not purely economic in nature. At the regional level, the priority task for the PRC remains the political and economic stability of the border regions: East, Central and Southeast Asia. The main barrier to the spread of the Chinese economic phenomenon was the “Chinese threat” factor. It is planned to reduce the threat to “no” using the strategy of “soft power” and strengthening the cultural influence of the PRC. The number of students from the Asian region studying at Chinese universities reflects the degree of penetration
China's energy security largely depends on its control over the sea and land Silk Road. As the world's largest importer of energy resources, China is 100% dependent on sea supplies. The threat of an “oil embargo” constantly hangs over the country. The US used this tactic against Japan before the war.
The New Silk Road will unite many countries, including opponents of the United States (Russia, Pakistan, Iran). The states participating in the path can become a significant political force. An important task associated with the creation of the Silk Road is the protection of Chinese investments. Through trading points controlled by the PRC, it is possible to implement not only commercial, but also anti-terrorist goals. From time to time, information appears in the media about the creation of a Chinese network of “String of Pearls” military bases in the Indian Ocean.
The impact of the project on the internal politics of the PRC
Large international projects are also becoming a priority in China’s domestic politics. The New Silk Road will help resolve several internal problems.
- The Pro-China Economic Belt is a profitable investment project with high returns and long-term benefits.
- Passing through Western China, the belt will help solve the problems of uneven development of the country, cultural and economic integration of the western regions.
- The construction of infrastructure facilities is a source of new jobs for Chinese state-owned companies that have solid human resources.
Central Asia and Russia
The territories of Russia and Central Asia, which unite the West and the East, are significant transit arteries for China. Today, China is the world's factory. They have been considering the idea of using Central Asia for economic purposes since the collapse of the Soviet Union. At the same time, systematic work began in this direction: the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, raising the issue of economic cooperation. It was important not only to level out the internal economic situation, but also to prepare a corridor to Europe through Central Asia and Russia.
It is not so important where the New Silk Road will take place: in any case, it will become a large-scale “shake-up” of the infrastructure of Central Asia and will significantly expand cargo flows from China. The success of the tactics of unification and stability, the only possible one on the Silk Road, has been proven historically. Revolutions and wars between nations led to its decline, and navigation to its lack of demand. Subsequent attempts to resume the route without unification at the regional level came to nothing.
Central Asia has always been a sphere of interest for Russia. The rapprochement between China and the Russian Federation is quite complex issue. It is not yet clear how the Silk Road will affect the Customs Union and the SCO. Much depends on the position of Kazakhstan, the regional center
Russia's role in the project
On the ancient Silk Road, China was the only exporter. The modern path differs from its predecessor precisely in the desire for integration. At the negotiations in Moscow, China for the first time proposed to Russia to use the infrastructure of the economic corridor for trade purposes. Russia will apparently gain access to ports on the New Silk Road and take part in the transit of goods. Of course, in this way the PRC solves one of its important tasks - to give impetus to the development and inclusion of Western territories in the international economy.
Russia on the New Silk Road is so far only an accomplice, a supplier of raw materials, and a transit country. Development along the “path” requires a holistic strategy. Government and corporate plans of individual companies are not enough for this; a single one is required. Thanks to China, we have formed a positive image of this project, but there are not many really positive aspects for Russia.
After the collapse of the USSR, we left Central Asia and solved internal problems. For the purpose of integration, China created the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Small states were afraid of the PRC, so security was the order of the day. The PRC raised economic issues related to free trade and opening borders. The SCO would have been a monopolist in the region if not for the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union, which showed that Russia has the will and strategic plans for Central Asia. Today, the SCO and the EAEU are the only projects in Central Asia, and the second more prospects for development, which is why China is negotiating.
Xi Jinping voiced several proposals for uniting the future economic belt and the EAEU. The idea was supported by V. Putin. The President expressed the opinion that both projects together will become a powerful impetus for economic activity in Eurasia. The projects will be united on the basis of the SCO, which also puts China in the position of leader.
Prospects for the project in Russia
The New Silk Road project will help increase trade turnover and develop Russia’s own land and sea transport network. To do this, it is necessary to create an associated infrastructure. Today the Russian government is saving the budget, including cutting funds allocated for construction.
The connection of Russia to the route as a whole depends on the degree of development of the domestic railway infrastructure. It was planned that the New Silk Road through Russia would go through the Middle and Southern Urals and northern regional territories, where construction of the Northern Latitudinal Railway was underway. The possibility of extending the highway through the Polunochnoe - Obskaya line to Kazakhstan and China is being considered. Northern Urals could be integrated into the “path” by sea or land, but only by fulfilling the conditions for modernizing the railway network.
Sokolov raised the issue of modernizing the BAM and Trans-Siberian Railway, which would make it possible to create a Moscow-Beijing high-speed railway, but no money is expected. In 2015, according to the plan, funding for the BAM and Trans-Siberian Railways should have amounted to at least 21 billion rubles, but in fact 16 billion were allocated.
One of the options for including Russia in the New Silk Road was rejected along with the termination of the project to build a Crimean port. Crimea could become a strategic trading base and a new entry point for the trade route to Europe. In any case, the Silk Road by land will go through one of the European countries, where it is easy to provoke a change of power and block transit. For example, the South Stream stop in Bulgaria. The presence of a trading base in Crimea will allow redirecting the movement of goods through any of the countries.
New Silk Road bypassing Russia
Ukraine has announced its intention to take part in the Silk Road project as an intermediate link for cargo flows from China to Europe. According to Mikheil Saakashvili, it is more profitable to direct trade flows to sea port Ilyichevsk, since logistics through it will take no more than 9 days, and through Russia - 30 days. Saakashvili emphasized that work is already underway on the construction of roads in the EU, and a large bridge is being built across the Dniester estuary.
China has already made significant progress in implementing the basic version of the route: Kazakhstan - Azerbaijan - Georgia - Türkiye. The Nomadexpress test container train left China, bypassing Russian territory, traveling 3,500 km in five days - through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea to Kishly station (not far from Baku). The second route of the New Silk Road will pass through Iran, the third (through Russia to Moscow and St. Petersburg) is still being discussed. The last route is more profitable: it is shorter than the other two. In addition, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are members of the EAEU. The issue of Russian participation in the project took a long time to resolve; a declaration of consent was signed in May 2015.
The PRC considers the option of an “independence” to be quite acceptable. The Chinese ambassador announced that Chinese banks are ready to invest $20 billion in the infrastructure of Ukraine. Does this mean that a New Silk Road will appear, bypassing the territory of the Russian Federation? Wait and see. It is quite obvious that China is considering several route options at once, as in ancient times.
The direction “Kazakhstan - Russia - Belarus” is the most profitable for China, but Russia has not joined the concept of the “New Silk Road” and defends its own interests related to the EAEU. Ukraine is indeed convenient for organizing transportation, but is not suitable for large investments due to its instability. The PRC's game with the Square strengthens the Chinese position in negotiations with the Russian Federation. Of course, the route “Kazan - Moscow - St. Petersburg...” on the Silk Road will still be discussed.
The New Silk Road will be paved with big money
The topic of the New Silk Road from the Middle Kingdom to Asia, Africa and Western Europe is now probably more of concern not to journalists, but to economists. Although for Russia and a number of other countries the idea of becoming a global Chinese transit country warms the ears, it burns the pocket. The intercontinental superconstruction so far only promises boundless prospects, but it already requires almost astronomical expenses. At the same time, the project has quite enough risks. First of all, these are the risks of globalization and the question of whether China will remain the same “world factory” after a decade or whether production will be distributed in some other way, which, for example, is already observed in America, when Trump demands the return of jobs, technology and power back to their homeland. That is, it may turn out that there will suddenly be nothing special to transport along this “road”. The financial and economic aspects of this project were analyzed especially for FederalPress by the General Director of the AsstrA-Associated Traffic AG holding Dmitry Lagun:
“The cost of Russian capital investments, as well as the forecast for their return on this moment impossible due to the fact that information on the volume of investments in this project from outside Russian Federation not published in the media. The main initiator and investor of the New Silk Road project is China. Some publications mention information that by 2030, investments will be made in the project three trillion US dollars. The Silk Road Fund is the main financing platform, with investments estimated at US$40 billion, focusing on infrastructure investments. The fund operates in accordance with Chinese law, and foreign investors can participate in its projects. The capital of the Asian Bank and the BRICS Bank can also be attracted to finance projects; the infrastructure investments of each of them will potentially amount to $100 billion.
Beijing says the project will build or network roads, railways, ports, oil and gas pipelines and power plants along routes that will link China with countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Persian Gulf, Central Asia, Africa and Europe. Along with the creation of a railway connection between China and Russia, an expressway project connecting Europe and Western China.
Infographics from the Kommersant newspaper
In Russia, the project is being implemented Rosavtodor. The section from St. Petersburg to Moscow (M-11 road) is estimated at 373 billion rubles. Section of the highway from M-11 to the Central Ring Road highway(TsKAD). Construction of two sections (1st and 5th) of the Central Ring Road is already underway, the rest will be awarded in concession competitions in October 2017. Expressway, which should pass between existing federal roads M-7 "Volga" and M-5 "Ural" through Gus-Khrustalny, Murom, Ardatov, to the south Nizhny Novgorod will cost about 400 billion rubles. In the territory Tatarstan The 297-kilometer Shali-Bavly highway is already under construction, and the section is about 40 km long. is already operational. The highway will connect the existing federal highways M-7 and M-5, thus increasing their connectivity. The cost of this project has not been announced.
In the Republic Bashkortostan they are going to build a 282-kilometer section of the international transport corridor (ITC) from the village of Bavly to the city of Kumertau, its cost is estimated at 156 billion rubles. IN Orenburg region, it is planned to build a 172-kilometer section bypassing Orenburg, Saraktash and to the borders with Kazakhstan– 84 billion rubles. Thus, the entire Russian section of the ITC from St. Petersburg to the borders with Kazakhstan should be ready by 2023, some of its sections will be launched by 2018. In addition, by 2020, the M-1 Belarus highway will be reconstructed, which should provide direct access for goods transported along the corridor to the Republic of Belarus and Western European countries.
Impact of the path on the regional economy
International transport corridors should serve not only the purposes of organizing transit and export transportation, but also become the basis for closer economic consolidation and economic development of adjacent regions. Most of the areas through which the route runs are united, first of all, by such a common feature as their inland macro-position in the depths of the Eurasian continent at a great distance from sea and ocean routes. By optimizing economic relations, it is possible to reduce the average transportation distance and thereby reduce transport costs. Consequently, cross-border economic interaction based on a common transport and communication infrastructure can bring very great results.
The direct effects of the implementation of the international transport corridors under consideration include a sharp reduction in railway tariffs, to the level of sea transport freight rates and, possibly, lower. This will lead to a reduction in transport costs and transportation costs, and ultimately to the economic “bringing closer” of inland regions ( Siberia and the Urals of Russia, Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and Shaanxi of China), and Central Asian countries And Kazakhstan to the leading centers of the world, sea and ocean ports and thereby eliminating one of the main inhibitors of development. There will be a significant increase bandwidth highways, accompanied by an increase in traffic volumes, freight and passenger turnover, which is necessary for closer economic consolidation and economic growth of the adjacent territories. Russia, China, Kazakhstan and other countries will be guaranteed to receive significant income from serving as a transport bridge between Western Europe and East Asia.
The indirect effect of the implementation of these megaprojects is expected to be even more significant, which consists in the strongest multiplicative overall economic and social impact of international corridors on the vast areas adjacent to them. Thus, within the influence zone of the Trans-Siberian Railway are located the most developed, inhabited and populated areas of Siberia, the conditions and capabilities of which are not fundamentally different from the average Russian ones. The construction of the superhighway will secure the southern part of Siberia, which has relatively comfortable natural and climatic conditions, as a territory of priority for powerful integrated development. The creation of the Great Silk Road on a modern railway basis will be an effective option for including the hitherto lagging deep northwestern and central parts of China into the advanced development zone. The formation of the Northern Silk Road Corridor can bring a particularly noticeable effect to Kazakhstan, since rich resource areas and large urban agglomerations fall within the zone of its stimulating influence ( Astana And Karaganda) in the east and north of the country.
The creation of a highway in a new direction will ensure an increase in the density of the federal road network and will give a tremendous impetus to the development of at least eight Russian regions through whose territory this section of the corridor will pass: Moscow, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Chuvash Republic, Republic of Mordovia, Ulyanovsk, Samara Region, Republic of Tatarstan . We are talking about the formation of essentially a new belt of investment activity, within which a large number of industrial, logistics, and recreational facilities will appear and new jobs will be created.
Project difficulties
The main complaint about the project is vagueness of initiative. It is still unknown how many countries will become participants in the New Silk Road, and what targeted projects should be implemented within the framework of the initiative. Even the geographical scope of the Belt and Road project is not fully defined - all existing maps of transport corridors are unofficial. The project does not specify KPIs (key performance indicators), that is, it is not clear how many roads should be built, how many containers should be shipped, and so on.
The main difficulty of this project is its cost. The full implementation of the New Silk Road will require enormous costs, which can only be covered by investments from all countries whose interests are affected by this project.
Along with the large financial costs, the difficulty of implementation also lies in the long period of implementation of the project. Thus, the media mentions that the project completion date is 2030.
Another issue is economic feasibility. Transporting goods by sea is much cheaper than by rail. In addition, according to the European Chamber of Commerce in China, only 20% of trains from the EU to China are filled with goods, the rest return home empty. This is explained by the fact that one of the main items of Chinese imports from the EU country is mechanical engineering products. The Indian authorities criticize the Chinese project because, with its loans, China is dragging the countries participating in the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) into debts that they cannot repay. The Chinese themselves Lately began to invest less in countries where the implementation of the “One Belt, One Road” project has already begun. In 2016, the volume of foreign direct investment in these 53 countries decreased by 2%. Chinese bankers admit that many of the projects in which the government has asked them to invest are not profitable.
Infographics ria.ru
What will change
Freight flows are gradually changing. The main mode of transport in transit between East Asia and Western Europe, both previously and currently, is sea transport, providing more than 90% of the corresponding cargo transportation. However, recently, the share of rail transportation has been gradually increasing. Using railways, the delivery time of goods from China to Europe is significantly reduced. If the project continues to be implemented at a good pace, then cargo flows may shift towards Central Asia. The transport and logistics network of Central Asia will expand and become more attractive.”
"One Belt" and "Silk Road": at least two routes will pass through Russia
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The 9,608 kilometers between Moscow and Xi'an across the territories of Russia, Kazakhstan and China will become the arena for the battle of the strongest teams of SUVs and trucks.
50 days before the start of the “Silk Way” rally-raid in Moscow, at The Ritz Carlton hotel, located next to Red Square, from where the race participants will start on July 7, a presentation of the route of the two-week marathon took place. In the presence of hundreds of invited guests, including famous world-famous pilots, project manager Vladimir Chagin and head of the European rally bureau Frederic Lekien spoke about the most interesting details of the route and key points along the route.
“Silk Road 2017” is 9,608 kilometers, 14 stages, 17 special stages
After technical and administrative checks, which will take place on July 5 and 6 at Luzhniki, and a ceremonial start on Red Square on July 7, dozens of crews will set off on a two-week racing marathon, which will include 14 stages, three of which will consist of double special stages.
The first three stages will pass through the territory of Russia, then the athletes will go to Kazakhstan, in the steppes of which the pilots will overcome four more stages. This year's rest day is scheduled for July 16, the participants will take a break in the city of Urumqi, but first the first of seven stages awaits the riders on the territory of the Chinese People's Republic. Like last year, here the crews will have to storm the giant dunes of the Gobi Desert, which will decorate the route.
This year, the race management has reduced the length of the liaisons between special stages as much as possible, however, the total race distance exceeds 9,500 kilometers.
Silk Way Rally 2017 route in numbers
- Total distance - 9608 km
- The total length of special stages is 4089 km (42.6% of the entire race distance)
- The share of special stages relative to the total rally distance increased by 4.32%
- The share of special stages in Russia relative to the total distance in Russia increased by 8.11%
- The share of special stages in China relative to the total distance in China increased by 5.55%
- The total distance of the liaisons along the rally route was reduced by 1111 km.
Outstanding line-up
Never before at the start of the Silk Way Rally, which dates back to 2009, have there been so many pilots vying for victory.
Last year's winners, the Peugeot Sport team will field three new 3008 DKR prototypes at the start of the race, driven by Stéphane Peterhansel, Sébastien Loeb and last year's winner Cyril Despres on the Silk Road.
The Lions will be opposed by an armada of Toyota crews led by the legendary Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota Overdrive) and South African athletes Giniel de Villiers and Leroy Poulter (Toyota Gazoo Racing).
The German X-Raid team will be represented on Red Square by two MINI John Cooper Works Rally cars, piloted by Arab driver Yazid Al-Raji and young American racer Bryce Menzies. Another representative of the brand will be Vladimir Vasiliev - driving a MINI All4Racing prepared by the G-Energy team, Vladimir will fight for a place in the top three.
Among the “dark horses” of the marathon, it is necessary to highlight Boris Gadasin, who expects to take the preparation car of the Suprotec Racing team to the track, and Han Wei in the Geely Boyue Hanwei SMG Team buggy, as well as the leaders of the Baicmotor Racing Team Pascal Thomass with Christian Lavielle.
In the T2 category, where production all-wheel drive cars compete, in the absence of the injured Denis Berezovsky, the reigning winner of this category, all eyes will be on the battle between Toyota Autobody's Akira Miura and Isuzu's Adrian di Lallo.
Among the trucks, the main favorite is the “Blue Armada” - five KAMAZ-Master crews. The colors of the Chelny giant will be worn by two-time winner of the Silk Road Ayrat Mardeev, as well as Eduard Nikolaev, Andrey Karginov, Anton Shibalov and Dmitry Sotnikov.
The main rival of KAMAZ-master will be the Dutchman Gerard de Rooy - this will be his first start on the Silk Road after second place in 2009. Petronas De Rooy Iveco's team partners will be Arthur Ardavichus and Ton van Genugten.
Martin van den Brink, the “Flying Dutchman” of the truck category, will drive for the Mammoet Riwald Rally Sport team. Together with him, two more crews will take part in the race - Pascal de Bar and Gert Huznik. All three will lead Renault cars into battle. The Belarusian MAZ-SPORTauto will also exhibit three trucks. The composition of pilots is traditional: Sergey Vyazovich, Alexey Vishnevsky and Alexander Vasilevsky.
Czech Tatra will be represented by three teams - Ales Loprais will drive a car prepared by the Instaforex Loprais Team, Tomas Vratny will compete in the colors of the Bonver Dakar Project, and Tomas Vratny will drive a Tatra Baggyra Racing truck into battle.
In addition, Team Qualisport's Miklos Kovacs will take to the start line in a new Scania truck, while Teruhito Sugawara will drive a Hino for the second year in a row.
Quotes
Vladimir Chagin(Project Manager of the International Silk Road Rally):
« The seventh edition opens a new chapter in the history of the Silk Way Rally - in 2017 we will make a new sports journey through traditionally friendly countries - Russia, Kazakhstan and China. It is noteworthy that we finish in the city of Xi'an, one of the oldest cradles of Chinese civilization, because it was here that the Great Silk Road began, connecting the West and the East many centuries ago. Thanks to the support of our partners, we did everything to prepare for the participants an interesting and beautiful, memorable track in terms of aerobatics. I believe that our route will be unforgettable both for the leading pilots and teams of the world, and for numerous fans from all over the planet».
Frederic Lequien(Head of the European Bureau of the Silk Way Rally): “ In the first year, in the format of the two-week “Silk Road” marathon, we managed to hold an exciting race, which was broadcast for hundreds of hours on television channels in 196 countries around the world. In 2017, our race will take another step forward. The recently completed renaissance has demonstrated gigantic potential in all three countries on the route. We have thought through the seventh edition of the marathon to the smallest detail, so that all participants can do is enjoy the stages and bivouacs we have prepared».
Bruno Famin(Head of Peugeot Sport): “ In 2017, the Silk Way Rally will again be an extremely long and awe-inspiring marathon. The race will be really long, many stages and very long distances await us. Just like last year, we will be competing on a variety of surface types, but most importantly, we will once again be heading to the giant dunes of the Chinese deserts. Thus, we will need complete focus and dedication».
Cyril Despres(Peugeot Sport driver): " I am happy to go to the start of the Silk Way Rally for the second time. Last year's race, which we won, showed that it is a great race and a real pleasure to compete in it. I'm looking forward to the technical Russian and Kazakh stages, and, of course, the dunes of the Chinese desert».
Stefan Peterhansel(Peugeot Sport driver): " When you start, you always hope to win. And our goal, of course, is to win, but this time it will be more difficult for us, Peugeot Sport, than last year. That race didn't end very well for me, but now I'm aiming for a good result».
Nasser Al-Attiyah(Toyota Overdrive driver): " While competing on the Silk Road in 2009 and 2010, we got acquainted with the tracks in Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, but in 2017 this rally will become the race of the year! The Silk Road is growing at a tremendous pace, everyone wants to win this marathon. But this challenge must be taken wisely, because the battle will be intense and very long. I have a lot of respect for Peugeot, but I'm not afraid of them. I've beaten them twice already».
Airat Mardeev(KAMAZ-master pilot): “ I think that in 2017 the truck category will give both participants and fans incredible emotions. All the best teams will take to the start line, so the competition will be exciting. Everything will be decided by the dunes of the Gobi Desert - as beautiful as they are treacherous. The main factors will be experience and composure, so we expect to fight for another victory».
Gerard de Roy(Petronas De Rooy Iveco pilot): “ I have great memories since I last raced in Russia, Kazakhstan and China. This is why I so want to participate in the Silk Way Rally 2017. I have no doubt that Vladimir Chagin and his team have prepared an incredible race for us. I will start driving a new Iveco truck, so it will take some time to adapt, but I have full confidence in the technology. Our goal is to win stages and who knows, if everything goes really well, me, Artur Ardavichus or Ton van Genguten can win».
According to the press serviceSILK ROAD RALLY 2017
On Monday, a two-day forum of countries participating in the New Silk Road project, which was launched by the Chinese authorities in 2013 and envisaged the creation of a land transport corridor from China to Europe, including through Russian territory, ended in Beijing.
Successfully integrated into the turn of foreign policy to the East, the Chinese “Silk Road” immediately received approval from the very high level Russian leadership: under Western sanctions, it looked like a politically convenient source of life-giving foreign investment.
At the 2017 summit, the Russian delegation in Beijing was led by President Vladimir Putin. In his speech, he spoke about the “stagnation of the global economy,” the response to which should be the creation of a “Eurasian partnership” that would “change the landscape of the continent.”
At the final press conference, Chinese President Xi Jinping proclaimed the success of both the summit and the project as a whole, promising to invest in “infrastructure projects, strengthening mutual ties and fighting poverty.”
A new batch of declarations from Russian and Chinese officials is intended to disguise the fact that in reality the Chinese “Silk Road” project remains a chimera, analysts at Sberbank of Russia note.
The share of transit of Chinese cargo through the territory of Russia and Kazakhstan is only 1.6%. The influx of investment also did not take place.
Two years ago, China announced the creation of the Silk Road Fund (SRF) with a volume of $40 billion and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with a registered capital of $100 billion.
But over the entire period of its existence, the FSP has participated in only 5 projects, and the AIIB issued loans for only $2 billion.
“Based on the results of 3.5 years, there is not even a specific map of the land route of cargo transportation from China to Europe. There is only a list of declared “economic corridors” - “China-Russia-Mongolia”, “China-Central Asia-West Asia”, etc. ., which China includes in the list of Belt and Road projects, although initially they were not such,” says the Sberbank review.
It was planned to include, for example, the construction of the Moscow-Kazan high-speed railway in the Silk Road project. Chinese banks were offered to finance it. But China demanded a significant share of the income and a government guarantee in case of financial failure. The Russian side refused to accept such conditions, and the project was frozen.
Part of the problem is financial, explains Alexander Gabuev, head of the Russia in the Asia-Pacific program at the Carnegie Moscow Center: the sea route is still 1.5 times cheaper than the land route.
Although the Belt and Road project does not look economically successful, it remains one of China’s most important political projects and declarations on its progress will likely be a key argument in favor of extending Xi Jinping’s powers at the 19th CPC Congress in the fall, Sberbank notes.
Ten thousand kilometers. Is this too much? Of course, a lot. Is it difficult to cover such a distance in two weeks at race pace? Exhaustingly hard. Is it difficult to completely create a route for such a race, laying out a route along interesting and difficult roads, but excluding impassable sections from it, ensuring the safety of racers, spectators and local residents, and most importantly, transferring all the features of these kilometers onto the paper of the road book along which the racers will travel? ? Is it even possible to be sure that on ten thousand kilometers of roads and off-roads everything will be under control? As it turns out, it is possible. But to do this, you yourself need to go through this track several times, and not in a racing car, but in an almost stock Toyota Hilux.
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If we were to tell you the story of the creation of a rally-raid route twenty-five to thirty years ago, we would say that it all starts with a paper map and compass. However, today, thanks to modern mapping services, advanced electronics and navigation equipment, you can use a much more accurate and reliable way to create a rough route - this is online reconnaissance.
Yes, the rough route of a modern rally raid is now created on a computer - many weeks of exhausting travel are preceded by slightly less lengthy preparatory work, during which specialists plot the route and check it on online maps. The work of creating a primary route has undoubtedly become somewhat simpler, but at the same time the requirements for the quality of such a route have increased. And “electronic intelligence,” of course, complicates real intelligence – but more on that later.
The main difficulty in designing a race route is to strike a balance between complexity and interest for racers, safety of the routes for pilots, spectators and local residents, and the requirements to comply with environmental, legislative and other numerous regulations. And these are the most difficult tasks when planning a route. Racers will not feel the spirit of true adventure if the route is repeated year after year. Spectators will not be happy if there are no spectacular places on the track with organized areas for them. A local residents Those living near the highway will not be happy even with such a bright event if it disrupts their comfort and usual way of life. At the same time, the first, second, and third must be absolutely safe throughout the marathon. And behind the organizers are the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the traffic police, environmentalists, the military, local authorities, private landowners...
And all this is not a colorful exaggeration. Since the battle route of the rally-raid does not pass along asphalt highways, but through the wilderness, every kilometer of it must satisfy the requirements of government authorities. Environmentalists must be sure that it does not pass through various nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries, and that participants will not cause critical damage to the environment. The Ministry of Internal Affairs needs to be assured that security will be ensured along the entire length of the route.
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The military is also among the participants in coordinating the route: firstly, the race should not take place in or near classified and closed territories, and secondly, the race is continuously accompanied by aviation - which means that the route should not take place in a no-fly zone.
If their lands are used for laying a route, agreements must also be concluded with private landowners - lease agreements or other agreements. Local authorities are probably among those interested in holding the race, but personal meetings and necessary approvals also need to be held with them. Now multiply all this by three - after all, the Silk Road passes through the territory of three countries!
But let's get back to creating the route. As we have already said, the organizers need not only to create a route, but also to ensure its passability, taking into account, in addition, that not only cars, but also trucks will use it. However, the recognition of the route varies greatly depending on the season, the passability of fords changes from spring to autumn, some roads are washed away, some are blocked by landslides, some are overgrown with bushes, and some sections become completely impassable. How to find out about all this? Get in the car and go there yourself.
After
Yes, from behind the computer, the track organizers take the wheel to personally verify that the roads found on the map actually exist and are suitable for the race. And in order to be sure that there will be no surprises in the race, you will have to go through the battle route more than once...
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The first reconnaissance of the route, or preliminary reconnaissance (from the French reconnaissance - reconnaissance) is carried out long before the race - it may well take place in the winter. The main task during this reconnaissance is to make sure that it is physically possible to travel along the route planned earlier. As mentioned above, the combat route does not pass along large roads that are constantly used, but along specific paths, and their condition depends on how “inhabited” they are in general.
Reconnaissance (from the French reconnaissance - reconnaissance)
It happens that the road ceases to be used completely, and the wind, rain and sun erase it from the face of the earth, making the path unusable or significantly complicating orientation. Sometimes the path that has been laid over the years is washed away by groundwater or a river flowing nearby, or is covered by a landslide - in this case, a new detour appears on the way. Other options cannot be excluded, such as the seasonality of the road - in winter it is suitable for use, but in the warm season it turns into a swamp or other impassable terrain. All this is work for the “scouts” who will go here now and later.
Having made sure that the route exists, the organizers focus on its formal component: as we already know, the entire route must be double-checked and agreed upon. But when there is one and a half to two months left before the race, the time comes for the final, most difficult work.
This work is the main renaissance: passing the route and compiling a road book (or roadbook) - the main guide that the crews will follow in the race. The importance of the road book is difficult to overestimate: not only the successful completion of the route, but also the health and even the life of the pilots literally depends on it. After all, in the heat of battle, each of them strives to get the most out of their car, but the capabilities of these same cars are very different.
Therefore, the road book must contain all the nuances and details of the route that may pose a danger to a car racing at speeds well over a hundred. In addition to the forks, junctions and intersections necessary for navigation, fords, holes, springboards, gullies, narrowing and widening of the road, dangerous turns, large stones and other risk-bearing features of the path are noted here.
Our goal is to ensure the safety of all pilots, so we include all potentially dangerous parts in the road book, although, of course, they differ in the degree of danger for different crews. For example, a large hole: the latest Toyota or Peugeot cars will not even notice it, but for less prepared cars it is a reason to slow down and be more careful.Stefan le Bay organizer, road book compiler
For each renaissance, a special team is sent to the rally-raid route. Of course, the complexity of the route requires the participation of several vehicles. Usually there are three of them: two main and one spare. This composition allows you to pull out a stuck car, explore fords without risk and test difficult sections of the route for passability.
This is doubly important, since the preparation of Toyota Hilux pickups, which are not the first to undergo a reconnaissance, is minimal - they don’t even have winches. The most serious modification is the safety cage: it is necessary, since these cars can, if necessary, go on the track during a rally raid. In addition to the frame, these Hilux are distinguished by a strong front bumper with reinforced crankcase protection, additional protection for drives and steering rods, an additional fuel tank that increases autonomy to 1,200 - 1,400 kilometers, and sports shock absorbers that allow you to maintain higher speeds off-road. Otherwise, these are ordinary production cars, although they have to endure quite unusual operating conditions.
Gas to the floor - four hundred meters of the finest off-road, where I, dangling from the seat belt behind, listen to the clicks of its stopper, which prevents me from piercing my forehead with the ceiling. A barely noticeable “crossroads” of two car paths – the brake is on the floor. Another note in the road book being created from scratch - and again the gas is to the floor. Another two hundred meters of bumpiness - a jump. Brake to the floor again. The mark on the springboard is gas to the floor. Three hundred meters of shaking - braking again. A few hours later, the head is buzzing, the stomach declares its categorical disagreement with this mode of movement, and the vestibular apparatus asks for mercy, wanting to lie down on the dusty, but hard and motionless ground. But we are far from driving a racing car and far from being in combat mode! And there was not a shadow of discomfort on the faces of the organizers in the front seats: only concentration and attention to the road. Perhaps, if I want to ride at this pace again, it will only be in the front seat. But who am I kidding...
Yes, here, at the Reconnaissance, there is no time for comfort: the ragged and heavy driving mode makes you think only about not overestimating the capabilities of a solid but standard car, and not overheating the brakes. The main task is to transfer onto paper everything that makes you turn your head once again, think, or hit the brakes. The cost of an error here is high: you didn’t include a jump in the roadbook - you ended up with overturned cars, you didn’t warn about the narrowing of the road with trees on the side - you created an emergency situation, you didn’t specify the danger category of the obstacle - and again the pilots are exposed to unnecessary risk. And this risk must be minimized: despite the complexity, a rally raid is not a race for survival in the literal sense of the word. Therefore, the attention to detail here is appropriate.
As a result, there are a lot of these “details”: for one special stage in the draft road book, which is continuously written during the renaissance, there may be 500 or 600 marks. The total number of instructions for navigators and pilots for the entire rally-raid route amounts to thousands! Thousands - and each contains encrypted information that can change a lot for each participant in the race. Moreover, the road book indicates not only important markers, but also the distance between them, so that the crew is ready to respond and can plan maneuvers in advance. Now it becomes completely clear why a road book is one of the most important attributes in a race: without a road book it turns into a meaningless and dangerous self-orientation in space, multiplied by recklessly fast driving.
In such an exhausting regime, the organizers go through the entire route for the second time, special stage after special stage. The main reconnaissance, as a rule, already makes it possible to completely clarify the differences between the real route and what was planned during the online route planning. After all, map updates in mapping services are not carried out every day, and a lot changes. For example, during two days of reconnaissance on one special section, we discovered a road collapse due to a nearby stream, an impassable ford for which we had to look for an alternative, and a completely changed landscape in the area where the road used to pass: in reality, it abutted a shallow cliff. Little things like fallen trees, a narrow dam or flooded meadows are not even worth mentioning - within the framework of this text, of course: in a roadbook, a narrow dam is as important a note as a dangerous high-speed turn.
How many such inconsistencies can be found ten thousand kilometers away is known only to the organizers. Only they know how many additional kilometers they need to travel to find an alternative route, how much time they have to spend on this reconnaissance, and how much strength they need to have to drive the entire rally-raid route in this mode for the second time...
And again later
So, the main renaissance is over and the compilers of the roadbook set off to work further - deciphering their notes and turning the handwritten draft into a weighty “book of knowledge”. It would seem that you can relax and unwind? No matter how it is.
The last weeks before the race are the most stressful time, when it is time for final approvals and organizing safety on the track. Instructions and training are taking place everywhere, teams of volunteers and local organizational headquarters are being formed. All intersections of the combat route with roads and residential areas will be under the supervision of the police and the traffic police - all this is also specified and agreed upon in advance.
Spectator areas and photo spots for the press that were pre-planned during the renaissance should also be arranged in such a way as to ensure maximum entertainment with maximum safety. The attention to detail is extreme - to the point that residents of all areas adjacent to the track are informed with the help of special leaflets, which indicate the dates and times of the race, its route and the necessary safety measures to comply with.
Well, a few days before the start of the race, the organizers... drive the route again! Yes, yes, almost before the start this is necessary in order to make sure that nothing has changed. If new obstacles or features are suddenly discovered on the route, they are promptly entered into the roadbook - but the likelihood of this is no longer so high. There is only one “but”: this fact does not greatly affect the complexity of the task of regularly checking the route.
If you think that this is where the reconnaissance of the route ends, then you are mistaken: already during the rally raid, just before the start of each special stage... a helicopter enters the route. Aviation is the only way to quickly check the route for force majeure changes. The organizers fly the entire route by helicopter, starting at about a quarter of an hour earlier than first crew - so as not to show him the way. And this test inevitably becomes the final one.
The helicopter, by the way, is also a safety measure: in parallel with the condition of the track, the organizers also monitor the presence of spectators on it. If among them there are marshals or volunteers wearing marathon identification vests, everything is normal, order will be ensured. If a group of spectators is located near the track on its own, warnings will be voiced from the helicopter and the notorious leaflets will be lowered, informing them about the race route, timing and safety measures. Well, as a last resort, if people clearly have no idea what is happening and may be in danger, a helicopter lands nearby to eliminate it.
A job full of turmoil
Now that the birth of the rally raid has become a little more understandable, it becomes clear: its creation is a job full of shocks. Moreover, both pleasant shocks - from the picturesque landscapes of fields, copses, steppes and deserts through which the rally-raid route runs, and physical ones - behind the wheel of Toyota Hilux pickups, taking you from the start of the next special stage to the finish. But both the first and the second have their own charm, their own spirit and their own romance. Perhaps, it is for them that people come here year after year, plunging into a world of great difficulties and simple joys.
