Page 18 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL5

COUNTRY PORTRAIT‘The Silk Road conveys a positive image of diplomatic and comradely relations binding the world together. The term fits well with the context of connectivity’Centre (TCRC), illustrated the plan by drawing the proposed routes.“The term ‘yi-dai-yi-lu’, which means ‘one belt, one road’, is common in China to refer to the New Silk Road policy,” Assoc Prof Aksornsri said. “It was designed to help connect China with Western countries by crossing over central and western Asia.”The New Silk Road will cover both terrestrial and maritime routes. The former will run from Xi’an in central China and stretch west to Kazakhstan, Iran, Turkey and Western Europe, terminating in Venice, Italy. The maritime Silk Road will begin at Quanzhou in Fujian province and run south through Guangzhou in Guangdong province and the Strait of Malacca in Malaysia, then extend toIndia, the Middle-East and parts of Africa before likewise ending in Venice. Due to its location, the AEC is expected to be part of the maritime Silk Road.This should be seen as an opportu- nity rather than a threat, Assoc Prof Aksornsri said. The Silk Road strategy could be called an example of “soft-power diplomacy”.“The term ‘Silk Road’ evokes an historical image of caravans exchanging merchandise along the journey from China to Europe,” she explained. “It conveys a positive image of diplomatic and comradely relations binding the world together. I admire the Chinese government for reviving the term in the modern era, since it fits well with the contextof connectivity.”She also emphasized the sincerityof its usage. “President Xi Jinping first mentioned the Silk Road scheme in Kazakhstan when he visited four central Asian countries in 2013. And later he would bring the ‘one belt, one road’ strategy to the discussion on every state visit.”The intention to restore the Silk Road is also supported by the recent founding of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). “The concept was initiated to provide financial resources for infrastructure construction that other financial institutions such as the World Bank or International Monetary Fund were not able to. Recently, 26 countries including16 Elite+