WorldPost: These Days, All Roads Lead to Beijing

China’s President Xi Jinping has made developing good ties in Central Asia and beyond a foreign policy priority. He anticipates the Silk Road Economic Belt to enhance economic ties, communications and trade across three continents, explains Peter Frankopan for WorldPost in an essay that examines old and recent history. China, positioning itself as a leader, pumps billions into the Silk Road Fund and projects, Frankopan notes. While positive connections are emphasized, he points out that disease, environmental degradation and security threats also move along human-made routes. The historical Silk Road, of course, was not a single route but rather a crisscrossing web, Frankopan writes. Notably, Xi may be pulling back on the descriptor “One Belt, One Road” with its denotations of singularity. Still, as Frankopan suggests, “All roads lead to Beijing.” Some projects will fail or succeed, and the ultimate measure of success, according to Frankopan, is if trade and other exchanges flow back and forth rather than move in a rigid one-way direction. He concludes that success of the modern Silk Road depends on being able to win goodwill through building relationships that are ultimately based not on commercial and economic interests but on mutual respect.” – YaleGlobal