'Silk Road plan aimed at reviving China's trade slowdown'

Beijing: China has chalked out the multi billion dollar Silk Road initiatives connecting it with Eurasia and Africa as trade with these regions have become a new engine of growth for the world's second largest economy's trade which has been sluggish.

China is seeking to boost its trade ties with economies along the new "silk roads" as trade with these countries and regions have become a new engine of China's overall lackluster trade growth, Zhi Luxun, deputy director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade of the ministry said.

Trade volume in goods with the 64 economies along the routes, many of which are developing countries, has been growing by an average of 22.2 per cent each year since 2001, 4.4 percentage points higher than China's average trade growth during the period, Zhi said.

Total trade volume with economies along the routes in 2014 accounted for 26 per cent of China's total trade, up from 16.2 per cent in 2001, he added. The "One Belt, One Road" initiative, consisting maze of routes on the land and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, (MSR) was first proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, who last year announced USD 40 billion fund to finance the projects.

"After China raised the concept of the "One Belt and One Road", many countries along the routes responded very positively, some of them have already been linking the initiative with projects of their own countries," Zhi said.

India is backing the Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar road (BCIM) one of the Silk Roads but silent on the MSR due its security implications in the Indian Ocean. China also launched the USD 46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor under the "One Belt One Road" through the Pakistan occupied Kashmir,(PoK) over which India has conveyed concerns to Beijing as it goes though the disputed territory.