Keeping up with opening-up

September 8, 2013

Xi proposes a 'new Silk Road'

President Xi Jinping proposed yesterday that China and Central Asian countries build an "economic belt along the Silk Road", a trans-Eurasian project spanning from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea.

Xi made the official suggestion for the first time during a speech on China's Central Asia strategy at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The proposed economic belt is inhabited by "close to 3 billion people and represents the biggest market in the world with unparalleled potential", Xi said.

To create the new economic belt, Xi suggested China and Central Asian countries accelerate policy communication, improve road connectivity, enhance monetary circulation and enhance understanding.