Trade offers enormous opportunities. For example, Poland, as a vital part of the growing production chain, can benefit from the rising cost of production in China; enterprises can seek partnership in infrastructure projects, high-speed trains, air transport and shipping; and both sides can gain through tourism, exchange of students and academia, and by creating innovation hubs and technology parks.
This is a historical moment for Poland to become an inter-regional strategic hub. But to fully benefit from being "on the Road", Poland needs not only political will and strategic position but also real action. It needs the comprehensive cooperation of Polish resorts and institutions, city-to-city cooperation and people-to-people dialogue. In addition, CEE countries should work out a common road map, strategies and concrete infrastructure and investment projects instead of competing with each other to attract Chinese investors to their markets.
It is also very important that CEE countries' road map, strategies and projects fit into the broader landscape of Europe. For that to happen, it is necessary to have a long-term vision and strategic cooperation not only among the CEE countries, but also with Germany and other European Union member states.
In all this, Russia should not be forgotten as it is the closest neighbor of China and has already said it would integrate the Belt and Road Initiative with Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union. Thus 5+1, comprising Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan plus China, is another mechanism to be watched closely in the near future.
To be, or not to be "on the Road", is not the question for Poland, because the country cannot afford to let go the opportunities offered by the new Silk Road. Now Polish policymakers have to ensure that their country capitalizes on those opportunities.
By Katarzyna Anna Nawrot
The author is an assistant professor at the Poznan University of Economics and a member of the committee of Future Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences.
