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Comment by kensai | Hacker News Reader

The new silk-road project with Germany is also very interesting.

https://www.thelocal.de/20161229/german-rail-giant-steps-up-...

It's not just with Germany, I believe it will connect through Central Asia to Spain. Central and South Asia are the key. They're using this to project influence across these countries to eventually form alliances and sway them from the US. When China is your largest trading partner and foreign investor, the US is much more easily ignored. That's long term. For now, smart countries will be playing off both of them and their rivalry to their advantage.

Freight rail traffic from china to Europe is hugely subsidized though (can't compete with boat on cost), while the trains are coming back to china relatively empty. It is purely an influence move ATM, and doesn't have economic value yet.

Surely it can't compete on costs but on speed. It's a compromise between air and sea that has found its use. In terms of economic value: At least Deutsche Bahn claims that that route is one of their few profit pools [0]

[0] https://www.google.de/amp/s/amp.welt.de/amp/wirtschaft/artic...

Yes, it competes on speed. There were articles in the Chinese press trying to play this up, but there haven't been many takers as of then according to those articles.

Wouldn't this put Germany at the mercy of Russia? edit: Downvoted for asking a question. It seems people forgot that Russia is always threatening with cutting the gas supply.

Any reputable media with 'Russia is always threatening with cutting the gas supply'? Especially Germany which has direct Nord Stream and upcoming Nord Stream2 ? It's other way around, Germany harass other countries,like Bulgaria and prevent them to build South Stream. Looks like you are victim of anti-Russia propaganda. Russia WANTS to expand it gas export.

Russia has cut gas supplies the Ukraine multiple times: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia–Ukraine_gas_disputes

Western European countries are the best gas client of Russia; Ukraine often didn't have money to pay Russia, as well as political disputes.

> Ukraine often didn't have money to pay Russia

But Russia cut _all_ gas supply, stopping gas flow to Germany and other customers.

That's exactly why I'm referring, and is not even the only point. We could even talk about invading other countries. It seems obvious that it could be another card to hold in any future negotiations. I just noticed it in the map that they will control it and got curious. I don't know how is it propaganda.

>Wouldn't this put Germany at the mercy of Russia?

There is another line is spinning up too - through Caspian Sea, Turkey, etc.

>It seems people forgot that Russia is always threatening with cutting the gas supply.

Russia is an opportunistic bully. The key thing to success here is to know whom you can bully around and whom you can't. Germany is of the latter :)

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