Silk Road Diplomacy – Twists, Turns, Distorted History

The romantic concept of a historic Silk Road by which camel caravans wend among the mountains and deserts of Central Asia is back in the news. So is talk on reestablishing the maritime networks by which the Chinese Admiral Zheng He steered his naval armada across the Indian Ocean seven times.

China’s leaders promote the ancient trade routes, most recentl…