China to invest in rail connection with Belgium

Belgium will take part in a billion-dollar project by the Chinese government, which calls for the construction of new land and water routes between Chinese cities and other major business hubs. The rebirth of the so-called Silk Road is already being called the largest commercial project of the 21st century, writes De Morgen.

The first plans for the new Silk Road, also known as the One Belt One Road, were unveiled in October 2013. It is a huge geopolitical infrastructure in which large Chinese industrial cities are directly linked to important commercial cities in Central Asia, West Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

According to Chinese President Xi Jinpin there will be two main components: one rail line for cargo trains with a connection to Belgium's Port of Antwerp, and a maritime route over the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. The Port of Antwerp has already set up a 'One Belt One Road' taskforce.

The One Belt One Road project will likely go down in history as one of the most expensive projects in the world. For the initial phase alone, China has created a fund of more than $40 billion. Furthermore, a new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was set up to bring in additional funding and to determine who will be responsible for the infrastructure of the new trade routes.

The AIIB has 57 founding members, including 14 European. All of Belgium's neighbouring countries are on board, and Germany has even managed to secure a seat on the board of directors. China is obviously the biggest investor of AIIB, but India is also heavily vested in the project.