Silk Road- a symbol of regional and global integration?

What is Silk Road?

Silk Road routes

The Silk Road is a network of historically important land and maritime trade routes that connect China with other parts of the world up to the continent of Europe. The road derives its name from the massive amount of trade in silk that took place along its course under the era of ancient Chinese Dynasties. The silk route which first became active during the reign of Han Dynasty later flourished into an international trade corridor for Chinese exports and imports.  The Tang and Yuan dynasties also played an equally crucial role in giving it its current shape. Along with its commercial importance, the Silk Road has been a major medium of transmission of different religions and cultures to China and vice versa.

This network of trade passages is divided into three parts: Northern, Southern and Southwestern route.

The Northern portion of the Road heads towards Afghanistan and Central Asia; the Southern leads towards Pakistan and the Southwestern one follows the Burma and Bangladesh route.

Why is China reviving the Silk Road?

XI Jinpging, architect of the modern Silk Road

The grand plan of the one belt, one road initiative was first announced in late 2013, and since then it has been vigorously pursued by the Chinese leadership.

The strategy to revive this old business route was first proposed by the current Chinese President, XI Jinping, with an aim to improve connectivity in the Eurasian region. According to the vision, better regional connectivity and economic integration can help China in maintaining its industrial upper hand. China needs raw materials on a massive scale, and this project is the first step to acquiring them with relative ease.

The successful completion of the project will generate large economic activity for China as well for regional players as can be seen in the infrastructure development. One example of this is the Pakistan-China economic corridor, in which China has already pumped approximately $57 billion dollars in the energy sector, industrial zones and construction of roads and infrastructure.

The revival of the maritime route is also an important part of the Silk Road project.  The so-called string of pearls consists of ports in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Somalia, and many other choke points.  The purpose of construction of these ports and points is to further the Chinese trade and military interests in the region.

The Chinese Hainan Island’s naval base, part of the string of pearls, provides a strategic gateway to the South China Sea. The Pakistani Gwadar Port is also of high importance to the interests of both Pakistan and China. On the one hand, it provides an alternative pathway to the Malacca Strait, and on the other, it provides an added advantage to Pakistan in the case of an Indian blockade to the Karachi’s Port Qasim. These two along with other ports and military points provides China with much-needed leverage to pursue its economic and military interests, regionally and globally.

The Silk Road will also serve as the melting point for cultural exchange among different nations and will generate massive goodwill for the Chinese people across the globe. Furthermore, China wants to propagate itself as the torch-bearer of the globalization and the future leader of the free world through this project.

Recent “Silk Road” summit

The People’s Republic of China recently arranged a meeting with its friends and partners regarding the opportunities and implementation of the Silk Road project. A total of 29 world leaders attended the Summit including representatives from United Nations, IMF, World Bank, intelligentsia, and think tanks. During the summit, the Chinese President pledged another $124 billion dollars for bolstering his efforts to promote trade and commerce. The Chinese leadership throughout the summit also focused on raising the image of China as the powerhouse in the region and leader at the global stage.

What is next?

The failure of a project in the Sri Lanka and lack of resource with the countries involved to pay back Chinese loans have raised some serious questions about the viability of the Silk Road vision, but Instead of bowing down to pressure, the Chinese leadership is heading speedily towards completing the network.  A large number of projects are under construction or have already been completed in different countries, and more are in the pipeline. Exchange of the various commercial products has started through most of the routes and the increase in economic opportunities is highly expected. The arrival of Chinese goods to London is the first positive sign of the economic possibilities it provides for the uplift of lives. Whether the Project will succeed or not is yet to be seen but one thing is for sure, and that is “The Chinese leadership is hell-bent on making it a complete success story.”

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About Muhammad Asim

Muhammad Asim is a passionate blogger and the founder and editor of the Politicalaxis.com