Arabia takes the New Silk Road to China, spurning the West

With hindsight we can see that two events occurring within days of each other in late 2001 brought about an epochal change in the world’s strategic system, drawing China and the Mid-East oil powers into each other’s arms again after five centuries of estrangement. The old Silk Road came back to life.

The Twin Towers attack of 9/11

Six days later, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) concluded talks on China’s accession, opening the floodgates of Chinese exports. The country’s breakneck growth over the next seven years lifted the price of oil from $18 (