BRI promotes intercultural exchanges, German scholar says

BERLIN－In the eyes of professor Michael Schueller at the Osnabrueck University of Applied Sciences in Germany, the Belt and Road Initiative creates opportunities for international and intercultural exchanges.

In a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency, Schueller said the BRI was not widely known in Western Europe a few years ago.

"Back then, I had a lot of questions about the BRI," he said. "My idea was to create an intercultural experience by contrasting the viewpoints of students from Kazakhstan, Germany and China."

Thus, Schueller organized a trip to countries and regions involved in the BRI for his students in May 2019 to help them further understand the BRI's main projects.

One group of students started the train journey from Hamburg in Germany, and then headed to Almaty city in Kazakhstan from west to east via Poland and Russia. Another group, led by Schueller, started the trip from Shanghai, heading from east to west via Hefei in Anhui province, Xi'an in Shaanxi province, Lanzhou in Gansu province, and Horgos in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to get to Almaty. The third group was tasked with organizing a symposium at the German-Kazakh University in Almaty.

The trip took them about two weeks and they finally met in Almaty. The entire trip was documented in a 45-minute video report narrated in both Chinese and German.

Schueller said he was very impressed by the infrastructure behind the China-Europe freight train during the trip. He also noted there have been "huge changes" in recent years, as many people in Western Europe are now talking about the BRI.

Schueller also highlighted the importance of efficient transport connectivity in extraordinary global situations like the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Railway connections are attractive complements to airfreight, and especially to sea freight," he said.

Since the rail service's launch in 2011, the China-Europe freight trains have traveled along 73 routes and reached more than 170 cities in 23 European countries.

China-Europe freight train trips have robust growth momentum since the start of 2021, with the total number of trips surging 32 percent year-on-year to reach 10,030 by the end of August－two months earlier than last year, according to data from the China State Railway Group.

Schueller said he was convinced that this rail link is vital for countries along the Silk Road in Central Asia as it connects them to global supply routes.

"Therefore, I hope that the spirit of the Silk Road, as we have experienced in our journey with international students from China, Kazakhstan and Germany, will continue to shape and form the Silk Road in the future," Schueller said.

XINHUA