China Plans $16 Billion Fund of New Silk Road

In an endeavor which will surely impact Afghanistan, China is committing over $16 billion dollars to finance construction of infrastructure linking its markets to three continents utilizing a re-established "New Silk Road". The fund will be used to build and expand railways, roads, and pipelines in Chinese provinces that are part of the overall plan to facilitate trade over land and shipping routes. The land route will travel over parts of Central Asia and will will help Afghanistan in direct and indirect ways. The old Silk Road was a trade route (think camels) that went from China (and some say India) to Venice (Afghanistan was one of the way points). Xinjiang province, in western China, will have a prominent role to play in the new economic belt and New Silk Road. Read more in "China planning $16.3 Billion Fund for 'New Silk Road'", Bloomberg News, November 4, 2014.