2. TRADE IN OUR WORLD IS AS OLD AS CIVILIZATION ITSELF.
INTERNATIONAL AND INTER-CONTINENTAL COMMERCIAL
TRADE ROUTES BEGAN TO TAKE SHAPE FROM AROUND
1,500 B.C. IN ASIA. THE WEST ASIAN, CHINESE AND INDIAN
SOCIETIES WERE THE FIRST ONES TO DEVELOP MAJOR
TRANSPORTATION NETWORKS FOR THE PURPOSES OF
COMMERCIAL TRADE.
BEFORE WE REVIEW THE MODERN TRADE ROUTES IN
ASIA, WE MUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE ANCIENT TRADE
ROUTES TO UNDERSTAND THE HISTORIC IMPORTANCE OF
TRADE IN ASIA.
3. ANCIENT TRADE ROUTES
IN ASIA
THE INCENSE ROUTE: IT
WAS A COMBINED LAND
PLUS WATERWAY ROUTE
THAT SERVED THE ROLE OF
A TRADING CHANNEL FOR
INDIAN, MIDDLE EASTERN
AND EAST ASIAN CARGOES.
4. THE SILK ROUTE: IT WAS
PRIMARILY A ROAD ROUTE,
WHICH BECAME ONE OF THE
EARLIEST CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN THE EASTERN AND
THE WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS.
THE SILK ROADS BECAME A
SIGNIFICANT OUTLET FOR THE
SPREAD OF BUDDHISM AND
OTHER CULTURAL EXCHANGES
AND INTERACTIONS WHICH
WERE SUPPORTED BY VARIOUS
EMPIRES OF THAT PERIOD.
5. THE GRAND TRUNK ROUTE: THE GRAND
TRUNK ROAD, CONNECTING INDIA AND
PAKISTAN, IS ONE OF THE OLDEST ROADS
IN THE WORLD, HAVING EXISTED FOR
OVER TWO THOUSAND YEARS. AND TILL
TODAY IT REMAINS ONE OF THE CRUCIAL
ROUTES FOR TRADE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA.
OVER THE PERIODS OF HISTORY, THIS
ROAD HAS SERVED NOT ONLY AS A TRADE
ROUTE FOR COMMERCIAL CARGOES, BUT
ALSO FOSTERED EXCHANGE OF IDEAS,
CULTURES, LANGUAGES, AND KNOWLEDG.
6. THE SPICE ROUTE:
INDIA BECAME THE
LARGEST EXPORTER OF
SPICES TO THE WESTERN
WORLD, AND THE SPICE
ROUTE BECAME AN
IMPORTANT
CONNECTION BETWEEN
INDIA, MIDDLE EAST
AND THE GRECO-ROMAN
REGIONS.
7. MODERN TRADE ROUTES IN ASIA:
IN MODERN TIMES, THE TRADE NETWORK IS
HIGHLY TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED AND
COMPLEX LIKE A SPIDER’S WEB.
LARGE VOLUMES OF TRADE ARE CARRIED
OUT BY THE MEANS OF ROAD NETWORKS
(HIGHWAYS), RAILWAY NETWORKS, MARITIME
NETWORKS (SEA ROUTES), AND AIR
NETWORKS (AIR ROUTES).
8. CHINA IS FAST EMERGING AS ONE OF
THE LARGEST TRADING NATIONS IN
THE WORLD, AND IN RECENT YEARS, IT
HAS INVESTED LARGE AMOUNTS OF
MONEY TO DEVELOP EXTENSIVE
INFRASTRUCTURES TO FACILITATE
INTERNATIONAL TRADE. AS A RESULT
CHINA IS BECOMING A CRUCIAL EAST
ASIAN GATEWAY TO CENTRAL ASIA
AND EUROPE.
9. LIANYUNGANG PORT OF CHINA
THE BUSY EUROPEAN PORT OF ROTTERDAM
(HOLLAND) HAVE BEEN CONNECTED
TOGETHER BY A GRAND, 11,000 KMS LONG
RAILWAY LINK. THE TIANJIN PORT IN CHINA
HAS ALSO BECOME AN IMPORTANT LINK
FOR TRADE WITH WESTERN EUROPE AND
RUSSIA.
10. Russia
RUSSIA HAS DEVELOPED
MAJOR PORTS ALONG THE
BLACK SEA AND CASPIAN
SEA COASTS, IN ORDER TO
ENCOURAGE MAXIMUM
TRADE WITH WESTERN
EUROPE AND ASIA THROUGH
ITS TERRITORIES.
11. THE NORTH-SOUTH CORRIDOR IS A
MAJOR INTER-CONTINENTAL
TRANSPORTATION ROUTE, WHICH HAS
MUMBAI PORT OF INDIA AS ONE OF
ITS MAJOR STARTING POINTS. SHIPS
THEN GO TOWARDS
THE BANDAR ABBAS
TRANSPORTATION HUB IN
IRAN, WHICH SERVES THE ENTIRE
PERSIAN GULF REGION.
CURRENTLY, THE BANDAR ABBAS HUB
IS HANDLING THE MAXIMUM TRADE
VOLUMES BETWEEN INDIA AND
CENTRAL ASIA.
