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! (sound up) Thanks

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