A New Silk Road – Russia’s Position
The first version of the Silk Road is placed by analysts at the beginning of the westward expansion of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). Chinese products (silk, porcelain, spices or other goods) that were highly prized began to be delivered to Europe, with the Chinese importing precious metals, glass and other products in return. Trade routes were plied by caravans connecting to Europe through Central Asia. This region gradually became the epicenter of the first wave of globalization, which made it possible for the area to connect remote regions, generate prosperity and connect very complex cultural and religious traditions. The impressive economic growth and increased openness to the external environment that China registered in the latter part of the 20th century and in the first two decades of the 21st century, focused on export-led industrialization, brought China the resources and vision to consider the necessity of investing new trade routes. Paradigm shifts have also occurred at the political level, with China's top leadership publicly presented in 2013 the concept of a “New Silk Road” (morphed into the currently named Belt and Road Initiative through the addition of a Maritime Belt) as a complex and ambitious logistics network consisting of ports, railways and highways, supporting infrastructure, as well as oil or natural gas pipelines that will sustainably connect China with the states of Europe and East Africa. The EU has since become China’s largest trading partner. More