Silk Road, New

Two thousand years ago, during China’s Han dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE), the Silk Road was a network of trade and commerce routes linking the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. The New Silk Road is a culmination of a strategy that the United States launched in 2011 to unite the region and promote infrastructure integration. A Financial Times article compared the New Silk Road with the U.S.-led Marshall Plan after World War II. It is also a vision China rolled out in 2013 that [Page 3106]outlined the government’s plan to streamline trade and advance the country’s business interests. The current New Silk Road plan is intended to revitalize the old trade routes, build new infrastructure in support of these routes, and promote economic growth ...