Proposed by China, good for the world

The China-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt is akin to the ancient Silk Road in many aspects. The ancient Silk Road was not only a trade route, but also a road for communications among civilizations and three continents - Asia, Europe and Africa. It was born to meet the strong commercial needs of the East and the West, from China to Central Asia, West Asia and Europe.

Archaeological evidence suggests Greece was introduced to silk commodities from China as early as 6th century BC. And as the two biggest empires in West-Southwest Asia and Europe, the Achaemenid (or Persian) Empire that rose in 6th century BC and the Macedonian Empire that was formed around 334 BC greatly promoted commerce and cultural exchanges with China.

Correspondingly, Chinese rulers desperately sought to ally with some empires and regimes to China's west, in a bid to prevent the nomadic people in the north from invading China. Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) sent his envoy Zhang Qian to persuade some regimes to the west to ally with China in 138 BC. Zhang didn't succeed in the mission, but he opened a trade route with Central Asia. Gradually, the Silk Road became the world's most important trade route despite traders being frequently targeted by bandits and trade suspended many times because of wars.