The new Silk Road Part 1

• Aardrijkskunde
• Voortgezet speciaal onderwijs
• Leerroute 5

1.4 The new Silk Road Part 1

Old Silk Road

• The Silk Road was the main route linking China and Europe
• Jumble of land and sea routes
• Horses and camels travelled across different landscapes
• Trade route was named after silk fabrics
• There was an exchange of languages, religions and customs between peoples.

New Silk Road

• China wants to revive the old Silk Road 
•  Rail, road and water. 
• The amount involved is enormous: one thousand billion euros (1,000,000,000,000 euros).

Video

1. What is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and why did China start it?

2. What are some problems or risks with the BRI?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8zzL2aBo2M

Video

1. What is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and why did China start it?

The BRI is a big project started by China to build and improve trade routes around the world. It includes roads, railways, ports, and more. China started it to increase trade and strengthen its influence in other countries.

2. What are some problems or risks with the BRI?

Some countries may end up with too much debt because they borrow money from China. There are also concerns about corruption and lack of transparency. Some people worry that China could gain too much control in other countries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8zzL2aBo2M

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Transport

- Rail transport is faster. This means that you can transport products with a limited shelf life such as fruit and vegetables, flowers and dairy products (zuivel).

- Improved infrastructure between China and Europe changes the relative location

Importance of the silk road for China

- The new Silk Road is very important to China. The country needs raw materials and wants these to be supplied easily and quickly by road, rail and pipelines.

 - China is also looking for new markets for its products. 

Help by China

- Building a good infrastructure is the basis for economic development in a country. Many countries, mainly poor ones, are happy with the help. 

- It is easy and cheap for them to borrow money from China.

- These countries pay back the loans with raw materials, such as oil, natural gas or copper. 

- The major infrastructural projects make the transport of those goods possible

Critisism

- European countries and the US are aware of the economic advantages, but are afraid that China wants to expand its political power. 

- Borrowing these amounts of money makes the countries dependent on China. 

->  they are more likely to take the side of China instead of Europe and the US.

And what happens if they don’t pay back the loan? 

A major seaport in Sri Lanka has already fallen into Chinese hands because Sri Lanka could not pay back the money they borrowed. 

Time and space are shrinking

- The absolute distance between two places in the world has remained the same, but the relative distance has become much smaller thanks to new means of transportation

- The means of transportation have become faster and larger. 

- There have been huge advances in communications technology.

Go to Learnbeat 4.5B

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