China's new Silk Road plan builds on failed Go West drive

Two thousand years ago Xian was the heart of China's trade-driven economy.

Now a new Silk Road running through what was once the Chinese capital could become the main artery supplying the raw materials for a new era of domestically oriented growth aimed at rebalancing the world's second-biggest economy and putting it on a more sustainable footing.

But while it is one of the cornerstones of President Xi Jinping's plan to transform the economy - with some analysts saying it will be as crucial to China's future as the multitrillion-yuan urbanisation programme planned for the coming decade - specifics such as timetable and detailed roadmap remain sketchy more than half a year after it was first mooted.

Central and local economic planning policy officials who met last week in Xian highlighted the authorities' eagerness to participate in the new "Go West" drive, but revealed just how little advanced the plans are.

"The Silk Road idea is aimed at broadening the channels for China's westward development, while it may also create new opportunities for accelerating economic transformation in the country," said Zhang Junkuo, a vice-director at the State Council's Development Research Centre.

Participants said the plan would bolster China's trade and infrastructure building, as well as cultural exchanges with Central and Western Asia and Europe. The areas for cooperation included energy, minerals, agriculture, textiles, finance, medical care and tourism, officials said.