Inspired by Marco Polo’s historic travels, we are a team of three explorers driving from Venice to Beijing this spring. Employing a sociological and economic lens, we will be retracing the Silk Road and follow the new path paved by China’s “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) initiative.
Feb 8, 2017
A Hunchun-Zarubino Hyperloop would propel Russia to the forefront of transport innovation and could be the first step toward the twenty-first century Silk Road.
Jan 31, 2017
In October, CSIS launched its Reconnecting Asia project, which seeks to track the various initiatives by China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and other growing Asian powers to reconnect Asia and Europe via old trade routes. These modern-day Silk Roads will use highways, railroads, ports, bridges, and pipelines to reduce the travel time between the two continents. The best known of these initiatives is China’s “One Belt, One Road” in Central Asia. This is an ambitious undertaking across 43 countries that encompasses 69 percent of the global population and 60 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP). The efforts to reconnect Asia with Europe will be one of the biggest forces shaping the next 30 years, bringing new markets, people, and resources into the fabric of the global geopolitical landscape. If successful, it will revolutionize logistics and create trillions of dollars in economic value through increased trade and economic activity.
Nov 17, 2016
Like its predecessors, China’s efforts at unifying Eurasia are driven by several factors: a desire to boost trade, a need to find new markets for firms struggling with overcapacity at home, and a desire to set the rules of the new Silk Road.
Nov 16, 2016