China’s one belt, one road initiative set to transform economy by connecting with trading partners along ancient Silk Road
Central government uses land and sea routes to connect with 65 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe, targeting five areas – infrastructure, trade, policy, finance and people
In more than 30 years, China has become an economic superpower, with its influence spanning the globe.
The country is now at a crossroads as it finds its economy under some strain.
The central government wants to double 2010 income levels by 2020, as the nation is making a major push to transform its economy from a largely export-driven one to services and domestic consumption, from labour and energy-intensive manufacturing towards innovative, hi-tech and higher value-added production, and from quantity to quality and ecological sustainability.
Three years ago, President Xi Jinping announced the one belt, one road initiative, a key policy to connect trading partners along the ancient Silk Road.
The central government wants to connect the nation with 65 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe through land and sea routes. The strategy has laid out five areas – infrastructure, trade, policy, finance and people – of cooperation with one belt, one road, or Maritime Silk Road, countries and regions.
The Maritime Silk Road connects China’s east coast to ports, including Colombo in Sri Lanka, Gwadar in Pakistan, across the Indian Ocean, through the Red Sea to Greece’s Piraeus, ending in Venice. The overland economic belt connects Venice to Duisburg in Germany, across to Moscow, through Central Asia and western China to end in Xian, the ancient capital where the historic Silk Road began.