Extent of Silk Route/Silk Road. Red is land route and the blue is the sea/water route. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A map indicating trading routes used around the 1st century CE centred on the Silk Road. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: People of the Silk Road, Dunhuang, 9th century. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Here’s a fascinating and comprehensive look at China‘s new Silk Road from SouthFront. The article highlights that China is building roads with speed unprecedented in human history.

Source: ‘One Belt, One Road’ and Hundreds of Highways

Since the financial crash of 2008, major Western governments, including the US, the UK, Germany, France etc. have all been very slow to invest heavily in public infrastructure. Well scoped public infrastructure projects have a multiplier effect on the economy. Sadly, in Europe, especially Southern Europe, German financial orthodoxy has prevailed, with the Fiscal Constraint throttling growth, in an attempt to justify the structural weakness of the Euro. By comparison, China is not constrained, with a powerful central government, ready to invest in infrastructure on an unprecedented scale.

By comparison, the IMF and Western central bankers play a cautious game – they are not yet ready to face up to the strategic challenge from China.

Thoughts?

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