Another expo, the Silk Road International Expo, is underway in Xi'an city, Shaanxi province. The intention is to revive the Silk Road, at least along part of the route, and turn it into a traffic and production belt to reaffirm an Asian connectivity that enhances inter-regional exchanges and promotes cultural contacts. And, given that a street has two directions, here is another opportunity for outlets for Italian products.
Mao Minhui, director of the Shaanxi Jingyang Fuzhuan Tea Development Center, is not surprised by the interest of the public – from northeastern China to the Central Asian republics – for his stand, given that the Silk Road was also used to route the tea from East to West. The original Silk Road connected China to the Mediterranean and started from Xi'an to then arrive in Italy, first crossing central and western Asia.
A modern version, the 'Silk Road Economic Belt' was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping when he visited Kazakhstan last September. Northeast China and Central Asia (formerly Russia) are complementary in the sense that Shaanxi province is highly industrialized and in need of raw materials, while Central Asia is rich in gas, oil and minerals.
