KAZAKHSTAN's City of Khorgos, despite its high priority in China Belt and Road
transport initiative is being ignored by thousands of traders who still prefer
receiving goods through seaports hundreds of miles away, reports London's
Financial Times.
"I would rather my goods take
10 times as long to get to Khorgos but be sure they arrive on time," said Jia
Xiubing, a trader who imports European snacks through the Chinese ports
of Qingdao and Tianjin, 4,000 kilometres east by road or rail.
Traders said Khorgos's showpiece free trade
zone is blighted by chronic delays, high costs and import
restrictions.
With investments ranging from ports
in Pakistan
and Sri Lanka to high-speed railways in east Africa to gas
pipelines in central Asia, China's Belt and Road scheme is possibly the largest
overseas investment drive ever launched by a single country.
But the problems, along with the
logistical difficulties of transporting goods through central Asia to Europe,
illustrate the shaky ground beneath China's ambitious plans to boost its
global influence and bolster slowing economic growth at home, the FT said.
Source : HKSG.
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