Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's tour of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, from Nov. 2 to Nov. 9, combines a demonstration of China's commitment to the "Belt and Road" (B&R) initiative with a search for synergy with the various multinational economic initiatives which have recently emerged within the "Eurasian" region. These include a Russia-led bid to create a Eurasian economic area as a bulwark against Western economic preponderance.

Li began his tour in Kyrgyzstan where he met his counterpart Prime Minister Sooronbay Jeenbekov and attended the 15th Prime Ministers' Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The SCO is one of the longest-established elements of the Eurasian security network, going back some 20 years; it was founded to ensure stability in Central Asia following the emergence of a number of new independent states in the region. China realized at an early date that the best defence against instability and the incubation of terrorism in this region was the establishment of firm and mutually beneficial economic links, as poverty and backwardness is always the most fertile seed-bed for terrorism and extremism. In the turbulent world of the 21st century, it is hardly surprising that China has invested a lot of time and energy into the SCO, which dovetails neatly into China's regional and extra-regional infrastructural initiative, the Belt and Road project.

The main planks of Premier Li's proposed approach to the development of the SCO were as follows: the creation of a safe and stable environment; the building of an integrated pattern of development; upgrading; the quality of production cooperation; cooperating on innovation; improving regional financing mechanisms and promoting people-to-people and cultural exchanges. China is happy to give a lead in all these areas, especially in the field of regional financing; but China is far from being the only player in this area: as well as the AIIB and the B&R mechanism, there are also the SCO Interbank Consortium, the China-Eurasia Economic Cooperation Fund, and the BRICS New Development Bank, among others.

Following that visit, Premier Li continued his journey to Kazakhstan which, like Kyrgyzstan, combines membership of SCO with adherence to the five-nation Eurasian Economic Union. The focus of this visit was the third in a series of regular bilateral Heads of Governments meetings. Kazakhstan has a domestic economic improvement policy called "the Bright Road," which provides an obvious synergy with China's B&R regional outreach policy.

The premier then travelled westwards, proceeding to Riga, the capital of Latvia, for a summit meeting of an arrangement between China and a number of Eastern European countries, both inside and outside the EU, which has become known as the "16 + 1" summit. This is also a fairly recent arrangement – the initial meeting of this forum took place in Warsaw in 2012.

Clear expectations of China and Chinese finance were high, and Premier Li did not disappoint. He was happy to commit Chinese finance to a deal for a new 500km high speed railway line between the Serbian capital Belgrade and the Hungarian capital Budapest, which was signed during the 16+1 Summit on Nov. 5. The Chinese premier set this in the context of China's wish to establish an intercontinental land-sea express line, joining transport arteries running through the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region to the development of transport corridors between Asia and Europe. Additionally, China has promised to provide cash and expertise to redevelop a highway between Serbia and neighboring Montenegro, valued at US$230m.

It was appropriate that Premier Li should have ended his visit in Russia, the main participant in the Eurasian economic and security partnership initiatives. Bilaterally, the visit's main focus was on the 21st regular meetings between the two nations' premiers. In this bilateral forum, the results are summarized from a broad spectrum of regular meetings between their government heads and numerous committees, subcommittees and working groups, covering almost all areas of bilateral cooperation. On this occasion Premier Li and Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev signed framework cooperation agreements in the areas of trade, energy, customs and education.

The key to Premier Li's extended visit is to be found in China's unremitting efforts to diversify her economic links, knowing that political relations are best founded on a proper basis of mutually beneficial economic and financial links. Equally, China wishes to demonstrate that there is no need for external economic relations to focus exclusively on the West. This does not imply aggressive intent or wish to exclude anyone; more that the maximum spread of economic interests is the best guarantee against the emergence of conflicts.

Central Asia and Eastern Europe are regions in transition: The more solid their economic foundations, and the wider and more securely based their international contacts, the more likely it is that the two continents will prosper in common. Premier Li's long and arduous travels show that China is naturally keen to take the lead in encouraging this process.

Tim Collard is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.ccgp-fushun.com/opinion/timcollard.htm

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