China's Strategic Option: Approach To The Great Middle East Through Hinterland

To eliminate the long-term threat to the northern and northwestern terri­tories imposed by Huns in 138 B.C., Liu Che, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, sent Zhang Qian to go to Xiyu (the wild-west region) and tried to ally with Great Yueh-chin, Huns' sworn enemy, so as to attack Huns from both sides of east and west. As long as 13 years of his duty, Zhang Qian was cap­tured and detained by Huns twice, but he escaped successfully each time. He reached the regions where we know today as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and north of Afghanistan and some other places with thousands of miles journey. In 126 B.C., Zhang Qian returned to Chang-An, the capital of the Han Dynasty. Unfortunately, only one person named Tang Yifu out of over 100 members in the diplomatic team survived and returned with him. Of course, the diplomatic mission of allying Great Yueh-chin was not fulfilled. However, Zhang Qian's expedition to the West Regions was still of great importance. It is based on his geographic, cultural and social knowledge about the West Region that the continuous military actions initiated by the Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty succeeded finally. What's more, Zhang Qian's Expedition to the West Regions accelerated the cultural and economic exchanges between the East and the West, which has influenced the development process of world history of civilization¹ directly and continually. Today, there is no immediate military threat to China's northwest and north, while it is fast and convenient for China to connect with other countries and regions by the development of transport and communication technologies. Particularly, the acceleration of the globalization and innovation of the internet technology has even linked the most remote areas of China with the world. However, the geo-political factors in the hinterlands of Eurasian continent still significantly impact on China's security and development. Therefore, it is very necessary for China to make another even more significant and extensive "Expedition to the West Regions" - to strategically approach the Great Middle East through hinterland.

Read more