Commentary
The original Silk Road lasted until the 15th century. It was a vast trade network that began in the Far East and ended in Europe, winding through the countries of modern-day Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Today this area is ground zero for China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is an internationally planned infrastructure development project for China and the emerging economies that trade with or border China. It is a move designed to recapture the ancient Silk Road.
Originally called “One Belt, One Road,” China’s BRI project is combining the Silk Road Economic Belt, which has six development corridors: the New Eurasian Land Bridge Economic Corridor (NELBEC); the China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor (CMREC); the China-Central Asia–West Asia Economic Corridor (CCWAEC); the China–Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor (CICPEC); the Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIMEC); and the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This is combined with the 21st century Maritime Silk Road, which begins in the South China Sea, flows through the Red Sea, and ends in the Mediterranean. Both roads end in Rotterdam.
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