English
By Rafail Voulgarakis and Vasilis Papageorgiou, Analysts KEDISA
The “New Silk Road”, also known as the “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) initiative or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is a development strategy proposed by China, which aims to foster the economic cooperation and connectivity mostly between Eurasian countries.[1] The initiative is named after the “Silk Road”, an ancient route of 6,437 kilometer in length, that dates back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) and used to connect regions of East Asia with the Middle East and Europe, prospering numerous Eurasian civilizations for centuries.[2] Therefore, with the implementation of the “New Silk Road” strategy, China aims to revive the 2.000-year-old network by investing on some serious infrastructure projects throughout the whole route, that largely resembles the legendary “Silk Road”.
[1] National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. (2015). Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. Available at: http://en.ndrc.gov.cn/newsrelease/201503/t20150330_669367.html. Last accessed 10th June 2017.
[2] Manu Life Asset Management. (2015). China’s new Silk Road: A win-win for Asia?. Available at: https://www.manulifeinvestment.com.my/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?file=00P9000000RJADiEAP. Last accessed 10th June 2017