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Global Business: Beijing to Belarus - a new Silk Road to Europe

Beijing to Belarus - a new Silk Road to Europe

16/03/2019 GMT

BBC World Service - Global Business, Beijing to Belarus - a new Silk Road to Europe

Will a giant industrial zone in Belarus become the European hub of China’s New Silk Road?

China and Belarus are building a giant industrial eco-city. They see it as the European hub of Beijing’s New Silk Road - a modern, turbo-charged version of ancient trading routes.

China and Belarus are building an economic trade zone so huge it will rival Barcelona or Dublin in footprint. It’s called Great Stone and it’s imagined as a futurist city - clean, green, and super modern - where pioneers of industry and technology will make their home. President Xi Jingping calls Great Stone a ‘Pearl’ of his New Silk Road - a turbo-charged version of ancient East-West trading routes. Belarus is gradually opening up after years of post-Soviet caution. It’s  keen to encourage international investment as its old Soviet era industries prove difficult to reform. Optimistic Belarusians point to their advantageous geography - the jig-saw piece between the European Union and Russia; their educated workforce and their impressive track record in high-tech innovation.


Producer/Presenter: Monica Whitlock
Image: Model of the giant industrial park being built by Belarus and China. 
Credit: BBC/Monica Whitlock

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