i'm not to the gym well i guess sometimes i am but they sound nothing which to them and then think sink into the german culture looking at stereotype crap but if you think the future of the country that i know. needed to take his grandmother down. it's all about. new i'm rachel join me for me again and something you. post. the silk road conjures images of dusty caravans and fragrant spices carried by traders on the central asian plains the original trade route connecting the far

east to the west may be history but china wants to create a new one the new silk road looks more like this highway in montenegro built by thousands of chinese workers the seed money is also from china one billion euros huge sum for a tiny balkan nation. for beijing just one stone in a larger mosaic the new silk road it's our theme today on made in germany. now officially it's the chinese government's belt and road initiative a trillion euro series of infrastructure projects meant to smooth the way for chinese goods across the globe that translates to highways bridges railways ports a network stretching across asia africa and even to europe part of countries are often eager for investment and for improvements to own infrastructure the new silk road is a charity project of course china is lending money and spreading debt sri lanka even hand the report to the chinese after nearing the fault and then there's the geo political significance china is aiming for a new influence on world markets. these are cooling and heating units for

industrial buildings soon will be shipped to the u.s. pakistan bangladesh and mexico the manufacturer broad group a company headquartered in hunan china specializes in energy efficient air conditioning in the next few years the firm with more than three thousand employees hopes to further expand aided by china's belgian road investment scheme. a few years ago projects in other countries relied on financing by local governments or companies things proceeded slowly but since fun and things become available we're seeing projects develop much faster. china is pouring billions of euros into projects around the world at the end of april thirty eight world leaders gathered in beijing to discuss the initiative widely known as belton road. and road opens a new space the growth in the world economy. it creates

a new platform for international trade and investment and provides new ways for global economic governance and contributes to the wellbeing of people in many countries. sometimes called the new silk road the built in road initiative is a massive infrastructure investment scheme new railways are intended to provide better connectivity across the region continent investment in open new maritime trading routes according to official figures the total value of projects already signed exceeds five hundred billion us dollars. the projects are largely carried out by chinese state owned firms they've gained experience with big construction projects during china's own infrastructure push of the past forty years but there was criticism of the international initiative. many western countries including germany are reluctant to sign bilateral belton wrote agreements

and one of the critics in the global south is malaysia's premier have been mohamed . what. this. and reach. the third it states have and fortunately increase oil fields in. all of these. concerns for participating partner countries range from the environmental cost to sustainability of debt levels in some places china friendly governments have been voted out of office malaysia and other countries have cancelled or renegotiated contracts fearing debt in view of china's own mega construction boom critics call many of the chinese investment projects overambitious. the biggest lesson for the chinese government was that you cannot just go ahead and build what you want you have to consider what local governments and people want and how the international

community reacts to. the fact if you ask where the backlash is in some of those countries came as a surprise to the chinese government. i would say it was not just a surprise it was a shock and that. the architecture of broad groups headquarters points to their international ambitions from europe to egypt so far broad has opened offices in eighty countries and most belgian road projects are carried out by chinese state owned companies private businesses like broad are seeing improved market access in many countries. one such country is pakistan jason stays in touch with the local staff via video conference recently islam about in beijing agreed to allow bilateral trade in chinese renminbi bypassing the dollar as an exchange currency. we are hoping to reduce currency risks vesting

renminbi and receiving renminbi in return so we are now looking carefully into these agreements. so far international trade rules have been shaped by western countries chinese companies like broad hope that through its massive investments china will gain a greater say in these rules to make them better serve chinese businesses. go away the golden road is a great project according to our internal analysis we expect the next fifteen to twenty years continue providing our company with excellent opportunities abroad. what china's ambitions are on the table it's now up to the rest of the world to react. china's new silk road is a highly centralized plan that leans on loads of cash and diplomacy from beijing

the original silk road by comparison was a looser collection of trade routes the stretch from the far east across the plains of central asia and to the west world so what similar apart from the name you might say that the original silk road was worked lobel ization got its start let's take a look. a brief history of the silk road. six thousand four hundred kilometers searing fifty degree celsius heat and bitter cold of forty below across depp's deserts high mountains with the constant threat of armed bandits. the silk road a perilous challenge the bones of pack animals litter the way as if in warning. but the world's oldest and most important trade route was not a single road it was a vast network of many caravan routes. by the second

century b.c. the silk road connected china to the roman empire but it was only given its name in eight hundred seventy seven by german geographer fed in and fun place to. silk was highly sought after by roman women. but only the chinese knew how to produce the valuable textile the two year long trip with up to one thousand bactrian camels was worth it they didn't just carry silk but also spices lockers furs and porcelain. in return europe's and gold gem stones and glass. inventions too such as paper and black gunpowder were spread and even religions were transmitted buddhism arrived in china and japan across the silk road. cities along the silk road flourished in summer congo harra

and tashkent there was ruling trained most merchants only travelled short distances then sold their wares to the next buyers this made the goods more expensive. but diseases were also transmitted along the train route from asia the bubonic plague killed a third of europe's population in the fourteenth century. the demise of the silk road began mainly because it was replaced by new maritime routes customs duties and bandits could be avoided and goods reached their destinations more quickly. and today it's estimated that china's new silk road will devour one trillion euros with its roads railroad tracks and harbors it's not a matter of reviving the glories of days gone by but of shrewd economic calculation . blossoming trade and prosperity or bandits and pestilence the significance of the original silk road was in the eye of

the beholder today's version as well take that massive highway project in montenegro that we saw earlier brussels would demand the public planning process transparency measures and lots of paperwork before any such project began simply doesn't it just invests the highway in montenegro it runs through an environmentally vulnerable area and that doesn't seem to bother the local authorities. a gigantic construction site part of a highway said to run one hundred seventy kilometers across montenegro financed with the help of a one billion euro loan from china this stretch of construction is along the charles river part of a unesco world heritage site some environmental activists say the decision to build here was a mistake there had been eight alternatives to teach the sex men and why is that we agree a great question none of these is just considering that this is you know and some

other than if it should be taken point at either. the tower or river gorge is one of the deepest in europe the river basin is a biosphere reserve. the water that flows from the higher elevations is crystal clear. environmental activist natasha kovacs of h. says it's one of the most ecologically important regions in montenegro. it's host for many putting speeches suspicious like species. similar so. that was thirty one hundred kilometers because it's really important the impact to the head in this area. about one hundred kilometers downstream is where the chinese financed highway will run directly across a tributary of the charles river. building on this terrain is complicated and

expensive the activist believes that the valley route was chosen because it's the cheapest option biologist studying the issues say that the construction project is destroying the habitat of various fish and plant species all this river is not recognizable place we have ten people on the bridge if we can see in the middle of . that stuff it's channel life it's all put it and if destroyed it's supposed to get up from the button traditionalists and really it doesn't look like itself and on one man and biosphere site it's. up to four thousand construction workers from china have been working here during peak construction phases chinese companies are raking in the profits but paying precious little in tax plus all the construction materials and equipment imported from china are exempt from customs duties. which is environmental organization employs fifteen people their work is supported by

donations as well as some funding from the european union. while we were filming a guard pops up and orders us to leave the area even though we're on a public road. chinese manager just said that we have to leave the place because we can take it but we cannot take our reports of the construction because bass is something that should be forbidden so the site. a local resident shows us some of the damage dirt and sand from the construction site is silting up the river. the fisherman believes the habitat of the trout that used to be plentiful in these waters is being destroyed. fish like this. the new highway will connect montenegro's coast to the north of the country. in the capital pod greta the state run agency money to put it's responsible for the

construction work the director insists it's all in accordance with ease standards. your waste but we're on the right path because we want to develop north montenegro that helps the country and europe as a whole. north of the country is under developed compared to the south. the north has enormous potential in the areas of industry tourism and energy. months is an anti corruption watchdog that keeps a close eye on the montenegran government. is investigating the financial impact of the billion euro loan. it's a difficult task because the government is keeping the financial details under lock and key. says research shows that construction contracts to domestic firms are only going to companies with close ties to the government he's also discovered that

under the terms of the loan an arbitration court in china would have jurisdiction over any legal disputes and if montenegro can't repay the debt in time china would be able to make collateral claims. montenegro is a small country with a population of just over six hundred thousand the average income is around five hundred euros a month the chinese loan is worth almost one fifth of montenegro's g.d.p. . we ask. want to put store actor for his assessment.

but if there are always risks associated with any construction project. the government investigated these risks in full detail. so we can say that the project won't be a problem for the montenegrin budget. and it's important to know that every cent of highway tolls will go into paying back the loan. because we believe we'll be able to pay it back down to the last cent. we head to an area just south of the capital where another section of highway is under construction pitted against a billion euro project environmental activists like the tasha kovacs of which are very much underdogs but she's determined to speak out against the lack of transparency and rampant environmental destruction issues that we are coming from the democratic background and we we will learn to discuss about things especially

when they had this big impact with the chinese investor and their culture actually it's more about just straightforward being and doing things without the two questions and of course the it also causes some questions and none understand. for the time being this is still highway didn't know where whether the new superhighway will ever reach neighboring serbia is very much an open question. environmental protection public disclosures even a clean bidding process the new silk road often falls short on transparency or reason why germany has applied to formally partner with china. the western german city of duisburg sees things differently however it's transforming itself into europe's largest distribution point for chinese goods the city has struggled since the closure of coal mines and steel factories new silk road a long hoped for thousands of new jobs. will be the end of the line for an eleven thousand kilometer long railway creating

a land shipping route from china to germany that takes only fourteen days. alone in europe other regions stand to profit from china's ambitions and yet critics urged vigilance they say beijing's checkbook diplomacy shouldn't divide europeans in my twenty years as a business journalist we've seen the importance of china grow in almost every sector. everyone wants to share in china's rapid economic growth chinese people today average one hundred times more than their parents did forty years ago. china is an important part but some reporters do express concerns about china's economic might. the country sells a billion euros worth of consumer goods to europe every day should we be afraid of china i also who grew up in beijing and now lives in germany.

i want to find out if china's giant silk road investments in europe are a wakeup call if china or a partner or a rival. humanize. china's a partner aspiring to be a rival trying to be a world leader that's already a kind of rivalry. and europe has good reason to be cautious. not because of the initiative but because of the possibilities that might accompany the initiatives. even the nobody in china's ambitions might not be limited to the new silk road high the country could aspire to lead european and domestic markets. where will this leave european industry especially industry in western europe. and last but not least it's also possible the chinese technology

will come to europe to the chinese tech takes top spot europe will have given up one of its last remaining resources and that would be very bad because of this let the aerialists how realistic is the project itself is this huge investment even in china some a critical of the initiative could just. you know within china itself there are three different kinds of criticism one is a nationalist one which says why should we throw money around the world when our own social problems are so enormously significant. goals and. the second criticism is that many investments of flowing into in secure regions. there's also the issue of massive debt. she maine says this could become an economic threat for the whole world. we tend to see china's obvious strengths and this is definitely true to the who put the same time we have to recognize the major problems the country is struggling with. china is itself up to

its ears and deafens if this turns into a debt crisis the world won't be able to save china this is normal the country be able to save itself. that scenario is of course very remote at the moment but it's not impossible. it's a scenario that certainly worries me no one knows how likely or unlikely it is. but right now other problems have a higher priority the new silk road is dividing europe some e.u. members are concerned about becoming too reliant on china others are delighted with the inflow of chinese investment including italy mostly says of. europe has to join forces even just to counter the sheer weight of china. no single european country even comes close to being able to match china on its own

there's no real alternative for european countries if they want to outperform china . after all some one point four billion people live in china a country with powerful economic potential. europe wants to make sure the new silk road isn't a one way streets and then there's the question of how a closer connection with china could affect european relations with the rest of the world the new silk road has a large political component those concerns are less prominent however in some african countries where large infrastructure projects often languish due to lack of investment. and that means that railway projects for example are welcomed with open arms like this one in kenya that connects the port city of mumbai with the capital nairobi the new line has drastically lower travel times but could such progress sour into an expensive burden that something kenyans themselves will have to decide . express high profile undertaking that

aims to bring prosperity to southern china and to two cities in particular. time to board the mombasa nairobi standard gauge railway or s.g.r. kenya's most expensive infrastructure project the distance between kenya's capital nairobi and the port city mumbai just under five hundred kilometers and two years ago in twenty seventeen this journey that we're on would have taken up to ten hours in fact some passengers on the train say that up to twenty four hours have been spent trying to bridge that gap between these two cities. fall. to make it to town. very fast and business was on red a fast. phase two is bound to happen which means that the standard gauge will be running across the country of kenya and eventually leading up to a regional partners uganda and eventually south sudan opening up the region to

trade and movement of persons on the route it will also based freight transport for example dealers usually have their new and used cars from by truck it's hoped that the new rail option will help lower prices for car buyers and make it more secure to move because you are taught on term would you prove a lot. of spin on your own through a driver because you are used to that which you perform in the railway was built by chinese contractors and financed largely by chinese loans that poses a debt burden. putting all this together hasn't come cheap three point eight billion dollars kenya has had to fork out in order to get this done and the tricky thing is ninety percent of that funding came from the china eggs in bank the foreign investors celebrate the results and the promotional videos the chinese provided both financing can technology. for the first five years do you think it

was worth it ok in terms of the finance musically and what other that spend it into the lake in tanzania it's a quite expensive but. i mean what can we do we don't get included in those additions so yes i'm going to enjoy the right. question is in ten to fifteen years will those people alive think that this was a worthwhile investment. is currently running at a loss but the investment is already paying off for chinese importers beijing is now kenya's biggest trading partner on the ground most kenyans are pleased they welcome the investment in the country's ailing and largely outdated infrastructure . this dealer gets his new cars by a train from mombasa. people who say the s.g.r. was a bad investment or against development this train helps ordinary kenyans rich and

poor benefit from it. but it's also hitting motorists in their wallet gas prices have gone up to help pay off the chinese debt. now whatever the world decides about the new silk road projects will have long term implications the original silk road is history the new silk road will be a major part of our future that's it for this week. take care.

go africa. three wheels. solar time. zero emissions. feels awesome still comes true. there's a growing number of them on city streets. green cabs are good for the environment it's time for business.

v.w. . plus nineteen the new channel for an independent view on current affairs in turkey. the latest developments accurate analysis. of comprehensive background. checks for some odd and political and social topics considered from different perspectives. we cover the issues that move turkey on a unique platform for information. plus ninety connects to an unbiased agenda. subscribe now on youtube.

i think is everything challenging i make a muslim. school much different culture between here and there so a challenge in court if. solicitous i think it was worth it for me to come to germany. got my license to work as a swimming instructor a vision our two children one hundred adults just one of the toughest. what's your story take part sheriff on info my greenstock missed. your a big idea. but what's become of it. look looks like tomorrow. looking for a better future isn't enough europe requires our courage patient.

play. european elections twenty nineteen may twenty sixth month t w. this is the dobie news coming to you live from berlin iran announces its fashion from a landmark nuclear deal president hassan rouhani says they're done with stop acting on some of its commitments under the deal and sets a deadline of sixty days for new terms to be agreed the move comes amid mounting tension with the united states also the program. the images of the world

has been waiting for britain's prince harry and his wife meggan moscow to preserve their.