Geo-Strategic Trend - 186. page

On December 3, China Daily published a report on railway construction in Nigeria stating that, on December 1, China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) completed the first phase of a modern railroad project in Nigeria.

According to the report, the whole project will involve building a railroad that will span 1,315 km (821 miles) in Nigeria, from Lagos to Kano. The first phase is 186.5 km long with nine stations and a design speed of 150 km per hour. The total cost was US$850 million.

"The railroad design completely adopted China’s railroad standards. This is the first modern railroad in Africa that is based on China’s standards."

"Officials from the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria stated that, in May, when Premier Li Keqiang was attending the Summit of the World Economic Forum at Africa, he indicated that China will be willing to work with African countries to build a high-speed railroad network, a highway network, and a regional aviation network."

On November 19, CRCC signed another deal in the amount of US$12 billion with Nigeria to build a 1,402 km railway along Nigeria’s coast, linking Lagos and Calabar.

Sources:
[1] China Daily Online, December 3, 2014
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqcj/zxqxb/2014-12-03/content_12825693.html
[2] Business Insider, November 20, 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-china-firm-signs-12-bn-deal-to-build-nigerian-railway-2014-11

On December 1, 2014, Huanqiu (the Chinese edition of Global Times) published an article titled, “If North Korea Collapses, China Can’t Save it; China Will Not Go to War for North Korea.” The author of the article was Lieutenant General Wang Hongguang, former deputy commander of the Nanjing military region, People’s Liberation Army of China. Wang wrote the article in response to another article that Li Dunqiu, a research fellow at Zhejiang University, wrote and which Huanqiu published on November 27, 2014, titled, “(China) Can’t ‘Abandon’ North Korea, Its 65 Year Long Term Partner.” 

First, General Wang did not agree with Scholar Li that China and the DPRK are consistent in sharing fundamental interests. Second, Wang said that he does not think North Korean’s political system and ideology have anything to do with socialism or Marxism. China and North Korea are no longer comrades. Third, North Korea does not listen to China’s advice. If North Korea and South Korea (backed by the U.S.) get into a war, and China does not support it, it will not be because China has abandoned North Korea. Fourth, North Korea as China’s "strategic barrier" does not play a significant role in modern information warfare.

Finally, Wang concluded, “The collapse of a nation is not determined by external forces. If a government cannot get its people’s support, it will ‘collapse’ sooner or later.” He continued, "Now there is no more ‘socialist camp.’ It is not necessary for China’s younger generation to fight a war for another country,”  “China will neither court nor ‘abandon’ North Korea. This should be China’s basic attitude."

Source: Huanqiu, December 1, 2014 and November 27, 2014
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2014-12/5221706.html 
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/opinion_world/2014-11/5217365.html

On December 2, 2014, Huanqiu published an article commenting on the heated discussions that have been taking place on the issue of “Abandoning North Korea.” According to the article, abandoning North Korea will only harm China’s national interests.

First of all, the fact that North Korea owns nuclear weapons cannot be a reason to “abandon the DPRK. Without even considering that North Korea would then turn to a third country for help and behave even worse, this approach (abandoning North Korea) is too emotional and lacks strategic thinking from the perspective of denuclearization.” Second, from the perspective of the geo-strategic value of North Korea, “the geopolitical concept has not become obsolete in today’s international political ‘field.’ Otherwise, why would the U.S. use the US-ROK and the US-Japan alliances as a ‘return to Asia’ strategic fulcrum; why wouldn’t the US troops withdraw to Guam or to the United States?” The importance of China’s strategic position established through the Korean War is immeasurable. This strategic asset must not be let go. Third, If China and North Korea were to become irreconcilable enemies, it would be a loss for both sides. “Some think tank personnel from the United States and South Korea promote a China-DPRK separation and view “China-DPRK separation” as an important strategy to solve the peninsula’s problems. This is worth attention.”

“These absurd arguments such as North Korea is “a white-eye wolf (Chinese slang referring to a person who treats kindness with ingratitude)” “deserves to be poor,” and “seeks to collapse” apparently are made by those who lack a broad mind and an awareness of the overall big picture. These have nothing in common with the basic strategy of China’s foreign diplomacy.

Source: Huanqiu, December 2, 2014
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2014-12/5223275.html

On November 21, 2014, Huanqiu published an editorial titled, “The UN Attempt to Bring Kim Jong Un to Justice Is Absurd.” The editorial stated that bringing the North Korean human rights problems to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and trying its leader is a very extreme approach. It would provide new excuses for North Korea to re-enforce its hostility toward the international community. Rather, the key may be to encourage it to open up to the world. To this end, “the United States, Japan, and others must change their posture of intimidation and endeavor to assure Pyongyang that it is safe.” The editorial expressed that, since he has less than three year in power, holding Kim Jong Un accountable for North Korea’s problems is not fair.