In February 2016, the first Silk Road train arrived in Iran after making a nearly 6,000-mile
trip, taking just two weeks.
This route is the start of what many are calling the new Silk Road, modelled after ancient
trade roads which allowed the East and West to connect in the BC era.
The new pathway is expected to revolutionize China, as well as other countries along the
way.
So, what exactly is the New Silk Road?
Well, to get a sense of where we are today, let’s look at the original Silk Road.
For a long period of time there were localized kingdoms and empires spanning the globe.
But the region between China and Western Asia and Europe is not very hospitable, and crossing
it back in 200 BC would have been incredibly dangerous.
As a result, while trade did occur, it was much more regional, and long distance trade
routes were rare.
But when the West encountered Chinese silk, demand for it exploded.
The huge demand led to an entire network of trade routes, crisscrossing central Asia.
Although many other goods found their way along this road, it was named after its most
lucrative good: silk.
Most importantly for human civilization, the increased trade led to culture sharing between
the East and the West.
Religions, philosophies, and even diseases made their way from one region of the world
to the other.
And while the original Silk Road was a political and economic explosion, the new Silk Road
promises to change the face of Asia.
It is being hailed as the signature foreign policy initiative of Chinese President Xi
Jinping, and could be the largest economic undertaking since the Marshall Plan post-World
War Two.
In fact, many are saying that the road would be China’s answer to the US’s Trans Pacific
Partnership, which presently excludes China and Russia, and seeks to streamline global
trade.
First and foremost, the new trade routes will make it easier for China to trade with former
Soviet States, which have seen a sharp rise in trade since the USSR’s collapse.
The plan to build more roads, railways, ports, and other transit infrastructure is being
called the “One Belt, One Road” plan.
This is comprised of two routes, a land road running from East Asia into Western Europe,
and a maritime route stretching to the Southeast Asia, South Asia and Africa by sea.
Along the way, these routes will pass through as many as 60 countries and regions covering
half of the entire world’s GDP.
Just the China-Pakistan corridor alone is expected to cost $46 billion dollars.
And while a total cost for the project is unknown, analysts expect the road to bring
in an additional 2 and a half trillion dollars of trade to China in the next decade.
This long reach across Asia will serve to boost economic prosperity, but perhaps more
importantly, give China greater control over its neighbors.
Some strategists in Beijing have also suggested that an increase in economic stability may
undermine the appeal of radical Islam in the region, particularly in countries like Pakistan
and Afghanistan, as well as violent autonomous states like Xinjiang.
With trade agreements like the TPP threatening China’s influence in the global economy,
the New Silk Road is likely China’s best bet at keeping trade supremacy, as well as
exerting further control over Asia.
In any case, China is about to own a huge number of infrastructure projects in a diversity
of regional countries.
That alone puts them in a risky, yet incredibly strong bargaining position with the rest of
the world.
But that’s not to say that China isn’t already a major world economic leader.
Find out more about just how powerful China is by watching this video!
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