![]() While China has long been the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, the term die Seidenstrasse was actually coined by German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen in 1877. Later dubbed, “One Belt, One Road,” the massive strategic infrastructure project aims to connect 60 countries spanning four continents. The rationale behind China’s objection became clear a year later when newly installed President Xi Jinping launched with fanfare an ambitious New Silk Road project on land and sea. The Chinese diplomat said, “You can call it historic trade routes.” The US conceded and thus ended America’s brief dalliance with reviving the Silk Road. “What would you like us to call it,” he asked. “My counterpart in the Chinese government came to me and said, you can’t use the term New Silk Road - that’s our term,” Grossman told me. At the time, neighbors like China were enthusiastic but a few months later, then US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman received an unusual request from Beijing. In the summer of 2011, then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton proposed the development of a New Silk Road, a trade and investment program to serve as the foundation for rebuilding Afghanistan’s economy after the US troop withdrawal. ![]() A period of slowing growth for China could delay developments along the new Silk Road routes or could be their savior. Chinese scholars caution their government that not all communities appreciate big infrastructure investments and rapid growth. The historic routes were also known for tolerance of a range of beliefs. “Later dubbed, ‘One Belt, One Road,’ the massive strategic infrastructure project aims to connect 60 countries spanning four continents.” Chanda reminds that the term Silk Road, die Seidenstrasse, was first used by a German geographer in 1877 to describe routes of active trade, including much bartering with reams of silk. “President Xi Jinping launched with fanfare an ambitious New Silk Road project on land and sea,” writes Nayan Chanda for Global Asia, a publication of the East Asia Foundation. China used the term But then China used the term for its own ambitious plans. ![]() In the summer of 2011, the US secretary of state called for a “new Silk Road” throughout Asia, investment in trade and infrastructure to counter extremism. ![]()
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