Empire of the Ring

China, which claimed to be the center of the world, was bent on One Belt One Road project because it dreamed of becoming the world’s number one country, beating the United States.

Since it was a chance for Kazakhstan to benefit from China’s new Silk Road project, Youngho was trying to get involved in it too. He was playing greedy and stubborn, but he did not intend to drag China’s project. He just wanted to make the most of this opportunity.

One of the reasons why China was insisting on Kazakhstan was because of the city called Almaty. Located in the right side of southern Kazakhstan, it was Central Asia’s largest transportation economic hub. It was north to the Alatau Mountains and surrounded by the Alma Atinka River. Its sceneries were so beautiful that it became a resting place for nomads in the past.

The Imperial Russia put efforts into establishing the city in the 19th century, so it even looked like old cities of Europe. One-tenth of the 18 million people living in Kazakhstan lived in Almaty. If such a huge city, Almaty, was excluded from the One Belt One Road project, it would be a huge loss for China.

Almaty’s own competitiveness was one thing, but the city’s web-like transportation network with southern Central Asian countries was something that could not be missed. In order to get to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, one must go through Almaty, so China had to earn Kazakhstan’s favor.

Youngho visited Almaty with government officials.

“Your Highness, this is the place that was developed as a free trading zone.”

“And do you mean to destroy this beautiful place?”

“I think China insisted on this side of the city.”

“I guess our former government officials just nodded to that.”

“We are not sure…”

“It’s strange that the Chinese government had picked this place to set up a free trade zone out of so many other areas in Almaty. Can you identify who owns the land in this area?”

“Your Highness, what’s the matter?”

“We’ll be able to see later from the investigation, but I’m sure most of the landowners in the area are Chinese. If we participate in the Silk Road project, we are going to review all the railway lines. In particular, I’ll thoroughly review the railroad lines that the Chinese government had specifically picked. Be aware of it.”

“Your Highness, wouldn’t it be a problem to decide that without consulting the Chinese government?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that the Chinese government won’t touch the construction that will be done in Kazakhstan.”

“We’ll make a thorough investigation and give you a report on it.”

“And I want you to give me the list of former regime figures who were involved in this.”

The Chinese government and officials had designated a free trade zone. They could not have done it without the former Kazakh government officials’ help. It was clear that there was collusion between the Chinese government and former Kazakh government officials who could bend over backward for bribes.

If the Chinese government was found to have intervened in land speculation, it was a good opportunity to pressure China.

“Your Highness, the landowners of the free trade zone turned out to be Chinese like you said. The surrounding areas are also owned by the Chinese.”

“Is there any land owned by Kazakh officials?”

“There are some.”

“Hand over all the data to the prosecution for a thorough investigation. And inform the Chinese government that Almaty’s free trade zone will be set by us.”

“China will be surprised to hear this.”

“There must be more than one or two surprises ahead. But since China’s guilty, it won’t be able to say anything about it.”

There were plenty of other areas in Almaty that could be set up as a free trade zone. According to the investigation, the price of the land that China set as a free trade zone was tripled now because the Chinese had been repeatedly selling and buying the land with each other. It was a typical tactic to raise the market price.

***

After thoroughly looking over the areas of Almaty, Youngho returned to Astana, the capital.

The location of the railway construction site that he looked around this time made him think that the Chinese side picked only places with good construction conditions. The section where only a few bridges could be built was lengthened to go around, and railroad stations were planned in places with exceptionally good scenery. And all of those areas were occupied by Chinese companies and Chinese people. It seemed that China had intentions to take the best parts out of Kazakhstan to make most revenues. China was only trying to sell its products by making the railroad but had no intention to share benefits with surrounding countries.

If that was the case, Youngho also intended to take advantage of China. Kazakhstan would be involved in this project by threatening China with Almaty. He could pay the construction cost since he could attract trustworthy companies using his connection to Basten, the representative of the Information Agency.

“Mr. Eriksson, I’ve heard Mr. Basten has a lot of friends. Is there anyone who can participate in One Belt One Road project?”

“Are you going to take over the Central Asian region?”

“I’d like China to step back, but if I’ll have to show that I can pay for the construction in order to make China yield.”

“Well, all of his friends like to invest in safety assets, so it won’t be easy.”

“Do you think it’s an unattractive business?”

“It’s not that it’s not attractive, but that it takes longer to retrieve money than other investments.”

“Even though it’s a goose that lays golden eggs?”

“They like geese that can lay their eggs right away. They won’t even look at baby geese.”

“If Kazakhstan guarantees it, would it make a difference?”

“They’ll trust the Kazakh royal family more than the Kazakh government.”

“I’ll have to show them that the Central Asia section is a charming business.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be easy to invest because the routes involve Afghanistan or Iran. No one would be willing to pay for the path that will go through unstable countries.”

“We can ignore the Central Asian section and make it cross over the Caspian Sea through Kazakhstan.”

“Do you know how complicated it is to use land route to a sea route then to go back on land?”

“You should know that it’ll shorten the distance than using a land route only. It may be more convenient if it’s equipped with a great transportation system.”

As Youngho talked about, he was more convinced about the Caspian route. It would be much faster to cross the Caspian Sea rather than reaching Istanbul after passing through Central Asia and Iran. This would result in an increase in the number of logistics transported to and from the Caspian Sea. Then the shipyard at the autonomous state would naturally receive more orders.

If the existing railways and roads connecting the East and West of Kazakhstan were properly repaired, they would be far more efficient than China’s One Belt One Road route. Since Kazakhstan was flat, the construction conditions would also be good. If Kazakhstan offered a much more attractive transportation route than the Central Asia section, would China still work on rough southern Central Asian routes?

“It’s a groundbreaking route, but will the Chinese government really support it?”

“It’s a necessary path for us regardless of China. If China rejects a good option, it won’t have the benefits that come with it in the future.”

Because the route was already there, although the railways needed some repairing, it would be questionable if the Chinese government insisted on developing a new route despite its high cost.

“I’m sure Mr. Basten will be pleased to hear that. I’ll call him to visit Kazakhstan sometime soon.”

“Please tell him I’ll be very happy if he brought investors.”

“Hahaha… I will do that. Your Highness, you need to save resources to put Kazakhstan on top of the world. As soon as the resources are exhausted, Kazakhstan will be forgotten.”

“I’m not going to exhaust all the resources without leaving things for future generations of Kazakhstan.”

“Keep an eye on the transformation of the Middle Eastern countries.”

The whole world knew that oil-rich Middle Eastern countries were trying to prepare for the future where they would eventually run out of oil. Youngho intended to make progress in a totally different way from them.

Although they were beckoning the world by creating mirage-like cities that only sought glamour, western countries already knew that it was only a money party after all.

The Arabs were saying that they were creating the financial hubs, but foreigners were the ones that sustained their cities. In 20 years, their wealth would collapse as they would run out of their gas since the world was desperately looking for a new energy source now. However, Kazakhstan would not be a country that relied solely on oil and gas. Most of the country’s land was undeveloped yet, and it was still yet to be revealed how much resources were deposited in the land.

The reason that Doctor Park Young-sun was traveling the whole western Kazakhstan with his exploration team was to investigate its resources and how much was left there. Kazakhstan would develop all its industries evenly to prepare for the time when all of its resources were exhausted.

“There is a limit to the transformation of Middle Eastern countries. They say they’re going to be the financial center of the world, but do you think the West is going to empower the Middle East?”

“The world is taking their transformation as a fresh change.”

“I’m sure that’s the case now. However, an economic structure that relies only on imports cannot guarantee the future. The reason that Kazakhstan is still a developing country is that it has ignored the basic industry relying on its resources.”

“There will be a lot of difficulties in improving Kazakhstan’s mindset. The idleness of the nomads could be a stumbling block for Kazakhstan’s development into an industrial society.”

“I know it won’t be easy since I’ll have to change everything. I trust in the power of Kazakh people. There’s only one country in the world where 120 peoples live in harmony.”

“If Your Highness is firm about it, Kazakhstan will definitely be the country that the whole world pays attention to. I’m very happy to work in a country where the future is so bright. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with you.”

“You give compliments so often these days.”

“I guess I was envious of the strange passion that Europeans don’t have.”