22 Vol. 19/18, May 2018
COMMENT COMMENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT TTTTTTTTTTT TTTTTT TTTTTTTTTTTT || BY DR MONA S ALMUNAJJED, SOCIOLOGIST, AUTHOR AND ADVISOR ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC ISSUESBY DR MONA
The New Silk Road: How China is
expanding its infl uence in the region
One Belt, One Road offers economic opportunities for
those in its path – but not without geopolitical implications
GLOBALISATION IS HARDLY
a novel idea; 2,000 years ago
merchants traded goods
along a network of routes
that grew organically across
Asia and into Europe.
The network, dating back to
the Han and Tang Chinese
empire dynasties, extended
some 7,000km from
Chang’an (today’s Xian)
in China, via Central Asia,
into the Middle East and
into Europe and Africa.
In the 19th century,
German geographer
Ferdinand Von Richthofen
coined the name Silk Road
or Silk Routes to describe the
passage of Chinese, Turkish,
Indian, Persian and Arab
merchants and their goods –
including silks – from China
and incense, frankincense
and copper from the Arabian
peninsula and the Levant.
Alongside commerce,these routes also facilitated
cultural exchange, including
knowledge of the arts
and literature, languages,
sciences, technology and
crafts, and helped to spread
religions like Buddhism,
Christianity and Islam.
Today, there are plans to
create new “Silk Routes”.
China, the world’s largest
economy, is developing
a modern version of the
ancient trade route through
a hugely ambitious $900bn
plan called the One Belt,
One Road initiative to linkChina to 68 countries in
the rest of Asia, Africa and
Europe. Underpinning it
are infrastructure projects
such as pipelines and a
port in Pakistan, bridges in
Bangladesh and railways to
Russia – all facilitating trade
and economic growth.
The location of Pakistan
and the Gulf countries makes
them key partners in this
project. Beijing’s ties with
Islamabad have been close
for decades and China is now
Pakistan’s main economic,
financial and military
supporter – a partnership
that has only grown stronger
with India’s emergence as
a rising economic power.
Pakistan’s centrality in
Beijing’s global plans makes
it likely to become a centre
of business and trade in Asia.$900bn
China’s anticipated investment
in the One Belt, One Road plan