photo taken in 嘉峪关 Jiayuguan, China
A brainchild of President Xi Jinping 习近平
, the Belt and Road Initiative 一带一路 (One Belt
One Road) was first
proposed in 2013.
Named after the famous Ancient Silk Road and the voyages
embarked upon by Zheng He,
this development strategy (together with its framework)
is made up of two areas, namely
o
New Silk Road Economic Belt (spanning across China,
Central Asia and Western Europe), and
o 21st Century Maritime Silk
Road (connecting China,
Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe).
Not unlike the
voyages of Zheng
He that
were based on trade and exchange, the
cooperation that would result from the Belt
and Road Initiative would anchor on
infrastructure construction and equipment
manufacturing.
Read also about the eWTP.