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The two routes will weave together in a silk motif to represent the world’s greatest trade and cultural connectivityThe Silk Road began during the Han Dynasty, when an imperial envoy named Zhang Qian led an expedition to explore the outside world. Setting off at Xi’an and stretching westward, the journey played a significant role in connect-ing East and West. Merchants, pilgrims and nomads who later used the route furthered trade and civilization.Two thousand years later, the dormant legend of the Silk Road was reawakened by Chinese president Xi Jinping in 2013. The Silk Road of the 21st century, also known as the “One Belt One Road” project, aims to revive diplomatic and financial relations in the region.The mega-project, facilitated by high-speed railways, is expected to bring about a new era of connectivity. The revived Silk Road will be separated into two routes, with the ASEAN region serving as a major link for the maritime route.Bangkok Bank PCL, seeing the economic potential of Sino-ASEAN cooperation, organized “The Way Forward, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road”, a seminar in late November for customers and investors to learn more about the changes. Diplomats, academics and Thai entrepreneurs with experience of doing business with China were invited to share their thoughts.“The 21st Century Silk Road strategy will expand into land and maritime routes,” said Chartsiri Sophonpanich, president of Bangkok Bank. “The project aims to revitalize historical trade connections and make them thrive again. This time the ancient desert passage will be replaced with modern highways and high-speed rail networks. The maritime Silk Road will be developed simultaneously. The two routes will weave together in a silk motif to represent the world’s greatest trade and cultural connectivity.“This project will become a key turning point in the business landscape, open- ing up new opportunities for investors in Thailand and neighbouring countries in the next five to 10 years. Infrastructural projects including railway, deep-sea port and airport construction will be initiated by China and turned into a new economic corridor that links the business prospects of the west of China with the outside world.”While the global economy is facing a downturn, development of China’s domestic infrastructure has reached saturation point. China’s economy is being remodelled under the term the “new normal”. The once rampant economic growth has slowed, down to 6.9% in the third quarter of 2015. Industrial and trade development indices indicate that China’s economy is struggling. The Chinese dragon, however, will not let this hinder development, seeking out new opportunities in this financial reconstruction.China’s ambassador to Thailand, HE Ning Fukui, delivered an update on the progress of the new Silk Road.“A Chinese proverb states that no matter how big a tree is, a single tree cannot become a forest,” the ambassador said. “Adapted to the development model of a country, it implies that domestic growth cannot reach the highest level without international cooperation.“We believe that the incentives proposed for the One Belt One Road campaign will lead to significant changes and strengthen diplomatic ties between China and its partners. China and Thailand play a significant role in the region’s economy. Our relationship is one of the closest diplomatically, ties which should be converted into concrete cooperation that benefits people in both countries.”Cooperation for the maritime Silk Road is one of the strategies to increase economic growth in China’s “new normal”. The Chinese ambassador assured that after infrastructure construction is complete, bilateral cooperationElite+ 11