Modern Silk Road— Historical Factors Influencing Present Opinions on BRI

Abstract

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the historical reason behind the cautious attitude of the former Silk Road regions toward the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It starts with a detailed summary of the existing modern literature on the current respective views of the BRI from developing regions along the ancient Silk Road— Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and India. It then proceeds to search ancient texts for historical factors influencing the present. Connections between investigations of historical factors and studies of the literature on current opinions are drawn during the analyses. This research eventually shows that historical factors played a role in shaping countries’ cautious attitude toward the BRI. The results offer valuable insights from a historical perspective into many countries within vastly different regions and their people encompassed by the Belt and Road (B&R), thus shedding light on future policy- making related to the BRI and fostering mutually beneficial bilateral and multilateral cooperations between developing countries.