The rail project will extend from Tehran into Turkey and across the borders with the European Union. Additionally, Turkey is also being linked with rail freight lines running north through China and across Kazakhstan, to Baku in Azerbaijan. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway provides a direct link to Europe from China, via Turkey as it connects through a cross-Turkey. A high-speed rail service is being constructed by China, connecting Kars with Edirne, near Turkey’s border with Bulgaria and Greece. Bilateral trade between Turkey and China was recorded at US$26.3 billion in 2017. Turkey’s export to China was around US$3 billion while its imports from China exceeded US$23 billion.
China has extensively invested in Syria for developmental purpose. According to Ellis, this is «an opportunistic and geopolitical play; opportunistic as Chinese contractors are looking at reconstruction projects to rebuild the country after its devastating civil war, and geo-political as China recognizes that Syria can provide an alternative route to Europe than the Suez Canal»26. This region is being developed by the Chinese with a Special Economic Zone which is being built in Tripoli Port, and plans to rebuild the Tripoli-Homs Railway. The zone provides Chinese and other regional businesses with low tax options for consolidating and adding value to component parts sourced elsewhere to then be exported to Syria. As per the estimate of the United Nations, it will coast around US$250 billion to rebuild the region. As Syria is oil rich region, China can initiate with the infrastructure building and in return secure energy supplies. Meanwhile, develop a secondary route to the Mediterranean and southern Europe.
China is a big investor in Israel and has plenty of opportunity in the market, in the fields including real estate, transportation, energy, telecommunications, and other infrastructure requirements. Its ports and trade routes to the Middle East make it a major gateway to Europe for the Middle East, which is beneficial for China. Projects in Saudi Arabia, and the other Arabian states include gas pipelines, to meet Chinese demand and also a better consistent energy network across the region.
In 2018 President Xi visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iran