I first heard of the Silk Road during a history lesson while in seventh grade.
The lesson was about Marco Polo, the 13th century Venetian merchant who spent 24 years of his life travelling some of the many routes collectively referred to as the Silk Road. By the time Polo travelled the road, it was already ancient.
Precious Chinese silk had made its way to parts of Africa and Central Europe as early as 114 BCE. The Silk Road played a significant role in the development of the civilizations of China, Korea, Japan, the Indian subcontinent, Persia, Arabia, the Horn of Africa and Europe.
Branches of the Silk Road reached all of those places, although in recent times most people think of it simply as a single land route joining Europe and China.
But now there is renewed activity as the Silk Road, now known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is involved in a massive infrastructure development designed to get China’s manufactured goods to market faster.
Some have called it the world’s biggest infrastructure project and most people in the Western world have never heard of it.
The BRI was first announced in 2013 and work was begun almost immediately. Now, with Chinese President Xi Jinping newly endorsed to serve a second five-year term, work on the BRI is expected to ramp up.
China has earmarked US$900 billion to spend on BRI projects. It is also prepared to lend US$8 trillion to 68 countries, many of them too poor to fund their own big infrastructure projects, and all looking forward to benefits of trade passing through their borders.
For example, the port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka has been handed over to a Chinese company and has received almost US$300 million out of a total of US$1.1 billion for its revitalization.
Sri Lanka is only one place where Chinese money is being spent.
Overland road routes connecting China to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan will be improved, bypassing a maritime route that sometimes takes weeks to negotiate.
China has promised Pakistan US$46 billion in energy and infrastructure, which is about a sixth of that country’s GDP. Part of that infrastructure will be coal-fired and hydroelectric stations built by Chinese contractors. The investment will benefit the local economy for generations.
There is also something involving Russia, with whom China has had a somewhat strained relationship in the past. In a deal struck a couple of years ago, China is buying 38 million cubic metres of natural gas from Russia for US$400 billion.
Part of the BRI is the pipelines that have to be built to handle the flow of gas. As well, there are plans for road and rail links to be built or improved. The famous Trans-Siberia Railway is one rail link that will be upgraded.
The new trading routes will pass through Poland and Germany and finally deliver shipping containers in London.
China’s trade with Europe is already said to be US$1 billion a day. The European Union’s trade with China is second only to its trade with the United States. That could change.
China expects all the work on the BRI to be completed by 2049. That’s if everything goes according to plan.
The vote endorsing President Xi for a second term resulted in 2,970 for and none opposed. He has also orchestrated a constitutional amendment that abolishes the two-term limit on the presidency, effectively opening the way for him to remain in power for as long as he wishes.
But he is 61, so between now and 2049 there is going to be at least one change in the top job. Maybe more.
That means there’s plenty of time for a change in China’s plans.
Korky Koroluk is an Ottawa-based freelance writer. Send comments to editor@journalofcommerce.com.
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