China plans to revive ancient Silk Road trade route stretching from Western Europe to Southeast Asia

  • 9 years ago
China is planning a transcontinental network of bridges, tunnels, railways and ports that will stretch from Southeast Asia to Western Europe as part of a new Silk Road trade route aimed at creating new markets for Chinese goods.

China calls the proposed trade route the Silk Road Economic Belt, or “One Road, One Belt.” The land-based route will start from the Chinese city of Xi’an and continue through Urumqi in Xinjiang as well as several Central Asian cities before terminating in Venice, Italy.

The maritime portion of the Silk Road route begins in Venice, Italy and travels down Africa’s northeastern coast to Mombasa in Kenya. The shipping route continues through the Maldives and a massive Chinese-backed Colombo Port City in Sri Lanka before passing through Southeast Asia and ending in Fuzhou, China.

Since Chinese President Xi Jinping entered office in March 2013, he and Premier Li Keqiang have traveled to countries on the historic Silk Road using the planned trade route as a major talking point at official meetings. Capitalizing on increasing internationalization of the renminbi, China has offered low-cost financing to all participating countries so that they can develop the infrastructure necessary for the global venture. Most of the funding for the ambitious plan comes from a $40 billion Silk Road Development Fund and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

As China continues to expand its trade network across the world, it has largely ignored the environmental and social impacts of its plans. China’s plans may also do little to appease existing suspicions among many of China’s neighbors who believe China seeks territorial expansion. It is clear that while China believes other countries will also gain from the trade route, China’s ultimate goal is most likely to achieve greater economic, political and cultural influence in countries on the new Silk Road.

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