0:00:02 > 0:00:07Now on BBC News, Our World.
0:00:09 > 0:00:15China calls it the project of the century.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17As the West steps back from global leadership,
0:00:17 > 0:00:21this is China stepping forward - remaking the map of the global
0:00:21 > 0:00:27economy.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31With no other country offering a big idea right now,
0:00:31 > 0:00:36this is the most ambitious bid to shape our century.
0:00:36 > 0:00:42TRANSLATION: I'm under a lot of pressure.
0:00:42 > 0:00:49A massive roll-out of infrastructure built by China.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54To drive trade across more than 60 countries.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58TRANSLATION: It's like a promised land.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00China's President claims it's a win-win for all.
0:01:00 > 0:01:05TRANSLATION: We will not resort to outdated geopolitical manoeuvring.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09Critics say the only winner will be China.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13TRANSLATION: The Chinese have done nothing.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16I'm setting out on a 7,000-mile journey to meet the people
0:01:16 > 0:01:19of the New Silk Road, to understand how it
0:01:19 > 0:01:27will change their lives and our world.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43They call them the ships of the desert.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46For centuries, the camel trains of the Silk Road dominated trade
0:01:46 > 0:01:54between China and the West.
0:01:54 > 0:02:00Now, China wants to build a new Silk Road.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03China's Belt and Road vision is so vast, it may be decades before
0:02:03 > 0:02:10we can tell whether it's a worthy successor to the ancient Silk Road.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14But what we can say is that, with no other country offering a big
0:02:14 > 0:02:16idea right now, this is the most
0:02:16 > 0:02:28ambitious bid to shape our century.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34It's not camels this time...
0:02:34 > 0:02:44These containers full of Chinese goods are going by train.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47China's grand plan is to build roads, rails, container ports,
0:02:47 > 0:02:54all the way across Asia and into Europe.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57It's hoping to wrap more than 60 countries in its embrace.
0:02:57 > 0:03:06Now, that is a massive new sphere of influence.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11Yiwu is the starting point for the train to Europe.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Famous as the town that makes Christmas, and probably
0:03:14 > 0:03:19many of the things in your home.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Oh, my gosh.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25That's quite a weird feeling.
0:03:25 > 0:03:34China ones sold silk, tea, ceramics, along the ancient silk route.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Now, it sells absolutely everything, and people come from all over
0:03:37 > 0:03:42the world to buy their goods here.
0:03:42 > 0:03:43I'll tell you - 7,200.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45OK.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Nigel's been exporting from here for 12 years.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50He loves the thrill of the deal.
0:03:50 > 0:03:51Can you do 1.75?
0:03:51 > 0:04:00Come on, for an old friend.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Now he's keen to bring good back the other way.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05OK, so you got this one...
0:04:05 > 0:04:07But red tape can make importing to China a nightmare.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11Nigel, you don't import from Europe back into China, do you?
0:04:11 > 0:04:11No.
0:04:12 > 0:04:13Now, why is that?
0:04:13 > 0:04:15What makes importing to this market hard?
0:04:15 > 0:04:17The government can change the law at any time.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21For example, I was ready to import a container of wine last year -
0:04:21 > 0:04:24had it all ready, but I didn't push the button on it
0:04:24 > 0:04:27because I was worried that they might change the law once
0:04:27 > 0:04:29it's on the water.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31It's a very grey area at the moment.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33A potential market of nearly 1.4 billion people.
0:04:34 > 0:04:45And the Chinese government controls access.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48The emperors once claimed to rule all under heaven.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50With the United States no longer leading on trade,
0:04:50 > 0:04:54President Xi has seized his chance, with a vision for land and sea
0:04:54 > 0:05:01routes wrapping the globe.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06TRANSLATION: We will not resort to outdated geopolitical manoeuvring.
0:05:06 > 0:05:13Instead, we hope to achieve a new model of win-win cooperation.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17APPLAUSE
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Critics say it makes little sense to move 50 containers by rail
0:05:20 > 0:05:28when you can shift thousands by sea on a single ship.
0:05:28 > 0:05:34But it's often a mistake to underestimate Chinese ambition.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Beijing's invested huge political and financial capital
0:05:36 > 0:05:39in its new silk route, and this train is an important
0:05:39 > 0:05:54symbol of the biggest development plan in the world right now.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Nearly half of the journey from China to Europe
0:06:06 > 0:06:19lies inside China.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22A lot of ground to cover, and the wealth gap between East
0:06:22 > 0:06:30and West a challenge as immense as the terrain.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33China's new Silk Road needs to solve China's problems -
0:06:33 > 0:06:36this China out here, not just the one I've left
0:06:36 > 0:06:39behind in Yiwu.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42The Silk Road was once unimaginably remote to most Chinese -
0:06:42 > 0:06:46not any more.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48In less than a decade, China's built twice as much
0:06:48 > 0:06:52high-speed rail as the rest of the world combined,
0:06:52 > 0:07:00and pushed it out to the far west.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Using the lure of the Silk Road to draw the biggest tourist force
0:07:04 > 0:07:35in the world.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37China hopes its new Silk Road, laden with tourists,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39can bring wealth to the West.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Xinjiang is home to the Uighur ethnic minority.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47They're mostly Muslim, culturally closer to Central Asia,
0:07:47 > 0:07:52but outnumbered in their homeland.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56The region has witnessed a vicious cycle.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Bitterness over marginalisation driving bomb and knife attacks
0:07:58 > 0:08:11by Uighurs, and met by overwhelming force and religious repression.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15China is investing here - more than $250 million to build this
0:08:15 > 0:08:18theatre alone.
0:08:18 > 0:08:25And, the more China invests, the more it has to protect.
0:08:25 > 0:08:39But this Silk Road show works hard to spin a story of ethnic harmony.
0:08:39 > 0:08:46Behind her stage make-up, Buhalima is a Uighur.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48Once, Xinjiang was known for music and dance,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52and she's sad her homeland's now more famous for violence.
0:08:52 > 0:08:58TRANSLATION: Tourists I've met told me they heard Xinjiang
0:08:58 > 0:09:01was unsafe, that they couldn't be sure to get out unharmed
0:09:01 > 0:09:05if they came here.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10Some people did some bad things, and it's affected us all.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14The theatre employs 100 Uighurs, and China hopes the New Silk Road
0:09:14 > 0:09:20will give more a stake in the system.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24The ancient story has moments of danger, and China's grand
0:09:24 > 0:09:32new narrative is still fraught with peril.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Deliver on the spin of opportunities for all, or forever scan the crowd
0:09:36 > 0:09:40for the enemy within.
0:09:41 > 0:09:47APPLAUSE
0:09:57 > 0:09:59A cathedral in Almaty.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04Kazakhstan - a strategic stop on China's New Silk Road,
0:10:04 > 0:10:10but traditionally Russia's backyard.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14Many Kazakhs grow up speaking Russian at school,
0:10:14 > 0:10:18watching Russian TV, even supporting a Russian football team.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22And none of that seems to have changed, but so much else has
0:10:22 > 0:10:27changed with the coming of China.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Dosym Satpayev is a political analyst.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34He sees the nations of Central Asia as billiard balls in a game
0:10:34 > 0:10:39between the big players, Russia and China.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42China, I believe, will be likely some threat for our independence.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44Why?
0:10:44 > 0:10:55Because for China, Kazakhstan is not an equal partner.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59For China, Kazakhstan only is like as one of players in the big
0:10:59 > 0:11:02China geopolitical game.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05The heart of the new Silk Road is infrastructure.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08With the Chinese economy slowing back home, state construction
0:11:08 > 0:11:20companies are put to work abroad.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24This engineer delivering a state-of-the-art urban railway.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26TRANSLATION: China's advanced technologies bring in convenience
0:11:26 > 0:11:29and more comfort and safety for travellers in Kazakhstan.
0:11:29 > 0:11:42If this project goes well, it will serve as a model for others.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47TRANSLATION: But he tells me most of the jobs here will go to Chinese
0:11:47 > 0:11:49workers, and the loan to build this railway was tied
0:11:49 > 0:11:51to a Chinese design.
0:11:51 > 0:11:59China using its money and its muscle to achieve its own ends.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03Nearly two thirds of Kazakhstan's economy is oil and gas,
0:12:03 > 0:12:09an increasing share in Chinese hands.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12This was once Russia's backyard, but China's now contesting that.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Kazakhstan is rich in energy and minerals, and it's a vital
0:12:15 > 0:12:18transit route - stretching all the way from the Chinese
0:12:18 > 0:12:26border to Europe.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29So while Kazakhs may still speak Russian,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32a lot of oil in their tanks now belongs to China.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35But locals here say they see little benefit.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38In the village of Kenkiyak a kindergarten has become a hostel
0:12:38 > 0:12:44for Chinese workers.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49Ardak Kubasheva was once a teacher here.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54Now she fears for their future.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56TRANSLATION: The Chinese have done nothing.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59There is a huge oil industry here but no jobs
0:12:59 > 0:13:03or facilities for young people.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07We want to live decently, so that we won't be
0:13:07 > 0:13:12ashamed of our village.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15She and others here complain of pollution and jobs
0:13:15 > 0:13:18going to outsiders.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23Government intimidation makes many Kazakhs cautious on camera,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25but privately several accuse Chinese companies of using
0:13:26 > 0:13:31bribes to cut corners.
0:13:31 > 0:13:36China says its presence abroad is a win-win -
0:13:36 > 0:13:39a win for China and a win for the people in its path.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41But that's not the experience here.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44They say their oil wealth is going elsewhere, and that win-win
0:13:44 > 0:13:56means China wins once, and then China wins again.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Some Kazakhs will benefit from China's plans -
0:13:59 > 0:14:02more on the city skyline, a commuter railway, some
0:14:02 > 0:14:04highways, some pipelines - but building big and fast
0:14:04 > 0:14:15in a developing country, that often means corruption and crushing debt.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25Poland has looked west since the end of the Soviet bloc,
0:14:25 > 0:14:32but Eastern Europe is becoming a key piece in China's strategic jigsaw.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35It's already started mopping up assets, and hopes the New Silk Road
0:14:35 > 0:14:39will bind them together.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44Stalowa Wola, built 80 years ago to make steel and things that
0:14:44 > 0:14:52can be made from steel, like military tanks and bulldozers.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55In those days nearly everyone here worked for the Polish state,
0:14:55 > 0:15:02but who's providing the jobs now?
0:15:04 > 0:15:07This digger factory was near financial collapse
0:15:07 > 0:15:15when Chinese state firm LiuGong rescued it and 1200 workers.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17The average salary for the assembly line workers,
0:15:17 > 0:15:22it's around 3800 per month.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Right.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26But he tells me this is a business, not a charity.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30He arrived as a manager six years ago, and he's still trying
0:15:30 > 0:15:33to modernise the place.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38Their factory in China takes just seven minutes to make a machine
0:15:38 > 0:15:43which takes four and a half days to build here.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50He is a long way from home.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53It's like a bachelor's life!
0:15:53 > 0:15:54A little bit, yeah.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Like in the Army.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00So your parents are keen for you to get married
0:16:00 > 0:16:03so that they can have grandchildren.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05I mean, either trying to help you find somebody?
0:16:05 > 0:16:07They really did.
0:16:07 > 0:16:13They tried to introduce potential girlfriends for me.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Could you search for someone online who actually wanted to live
0:16:16 > 0:16:21in Poland, who even wanted to live in Stalowa Wola, Poland?
0:16:21 > 0:16:24In the mind of Chinese girls they don't have any
0:16:24 > 0:16:27idea about Stalowa Wola!
0:16:27 > 0:16:30It's not just a wife he needs.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33At work the company's been struggling for orders.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38He needs the massive building projects on China's New Silk Road
0:16:38 > 0:16:45to boost demand for diggers and keep his workers in jobs.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47We haven't seen a mass of orders yet.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50So no real difference to the bottom line yet?
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Thanks to the One Belt One Road initiative I think the customers,
0:16:54 > 0:17:02they really have the need for the machines, but not yet.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06Belt and Road is the official name for China's New Silk Road.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10It's got an official name because it's a government project.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13State construction companies, state banks - not private
0:17:13 > 0:17:16traders or investors.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21Critics say this could be digging the world into a big hole.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25This is a plan by the state agencies, and it's going to be
0:17:25 > 0:17:30implemented by state agencies, so my worry is that it's
0:17:30 > 0:17:35going to end up with a huge amount of bad loans.
0:17:35 > 0:17:45With dozens of countries involved, it could be very very dangerous.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49Where some see risks, others see opportunities.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51China has a growing appetite for milk from where
0:17:51 > 0:17:56the grass is greener.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Wieslaw inherited this land from his father,
0:17:59 > 0:18:04and he'll pass it on to his son.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08They want to expand the farm and the business.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12He says China could be part of their future.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15TRANSLATION: China is a very big and interesting market for us,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17and we want to try it.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19It's like a promised land.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22We are daring to think of doing new things now.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25But will China be happy
0:18:25 > 0:18:26to just purchase the product?
0:18:26 > 0:18:30In some of Poland's neighbours, it's buying farmland and
0:18:30 > 0:18:33setting up its own fast dairy herds.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Say I'm a Chinese investor, and I come and knock
0:18:36 > 0:18:40on your door and I say, "I've got a lot of money - I want to
0:18:40 > 0:18:41buy your farm.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43You can just sit and take it easy."
0:18:43 > 0:18:44TRANSLATION: No, thanks.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46I wouldn't sell it to anybody.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49It is my father and grandfather's land and I want to
0:18:49 > 0:18:50have my touch on this farm.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53I don't want to sell it and have only money.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55It's a long way from this milking parlour
0:18:55 > 0:18:58to the breakfast table in Beijing.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Europe complains of Chinese import barriers.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06It sells only half as much to China as China sells here.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09And Europe worries that Beijing's learned the art of divide and rule,
0:19:09 > 0:19:15to force a path through Europe for its New Silk Road.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Shall we have jam first or clotted cream first?
0:19:25 > 0:19:26What's the right answer?
0:19:26 > 0:19:29There's no right or wrong.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Lessons in the British tradition of afternoon tea
0:19:32 > 0:19:34from a Chinese citizen.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38The lovely sweet jam...
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Tingting plans to take her pitch from an Essex tearoom to China.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45A Communist state perhaps, but one with a healthy
0:19:45 > 0:19:50appetite for the rituals of the British ruling class.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54Her jam is with berries straight from the Tiptree Farm.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58China's consumers getting choosy about food quality.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02A huge market but hard to stand out.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05I think we're still at the beginning of the journey.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09We are starting small by introducing new things, and a few things...
0:20:09 > 0:20:13I mean, the Chinese are a curious country, or curious consumers -
0:20:13 > 0:20:16they always surprise us.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18I have never seen so much jam!
0:20:18 > 0:20:21It is, a world of jam.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23So these are all bound for China?
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Mm.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28But China's a long way away, and shipping by sea
0:20:28 > 0:20:29can take two months.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32No wonder the UK currently sells more to the tiny
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Republic of Ireland.
0:20:35 > 0:20:40Tingting hopes the new train service will help.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44Once a symbol of British Empire and engineering, now it's China's
0:20:44 > 0:20:47great age of the railways, carrying UK hopes for
0:20:47 > 0:20:51post-Brexit markets.
0:20:51 > 0:20:58From one end of the New Silk Road back to its start.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Three weeks later and those British goods from the train
0:21:03 > 0:21:08are on display at a Chinese trade fair.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12No one but me showing an interest.
0:21:12 > 0:21:19It's a local stir-fry which captures the crowd.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24So how are other European exporters doing?
0:21:32 > 0:21:36There's certainly a lot of curiosity about the European
0:21:36 > 0:21:39products in there, but I didn't overhear any huge deals being done.
0:21:39 > 0:21:49I think there's still a long way to go.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52The ancient Silk Road was driven by private traders
0:21:52 > 0:21:57from many countries.
0:21:58 > 0:22:05The new version is Chinese state money and muscle.
0:22:07 > 0:22:14China has the most ambitious plan for our century.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17If it succeeds, it will make China a superpower again,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20even mightier perhaps than the empires of old.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23But if it fails, it'll leave a legacy of bad blood
0:22:23 > 0:22:25which poisons China's future, and taints even
0:22:25 > 0:22:31the grandeur of the past.