The Spirit of the New Silk Road -A global Revolution of Creativity and Progress

- The greatest dynamical change on a planetary scale has been brought about by China's „New Silk Road” or BRI-initiative. It has already succeeded to create a phase shift in international relations for peace and progress through „win-win“ cooperation, instead of geopolitics and conflict and has established new metrics of economic progress. By applying long-term investments into the physical economy, assisted by new credit institutions (along with the BRICS), BRI has changed fundamentally the productivity platform of whole regions of the world, which were heavily underdeveloped, rather than focusing on short-term monetarist profit. The BRI-initiative has become the largest cross-country infrastructure and industrialization program, that has ever existed on the planet. It is quickly moving towards becoming a World Landbridge, interconnecting all continents and peoples, offering „win-win“ cooperation for human development. China’s BRI-policy offers China's own experience of lifting 700 million people out of poverty to other nations and contributes greatly to realizing globally the most fundamental human right to development, as defined by the UN Charter. At the center, China has taken the lead in science, technology and fundamental research to resolve scientific and technological problems which are holding back global economic and industrial development. Like the Old Silk Road, which promoted civilizational progress by the exchange of knowledge, technologies and cultures, the New Silk Road dynamic enables the development of the creative potential of mankind as the real source of wealth. It is of crucial importance for all European nations, to join this process and reinvigorate its own spirit of innovation, progress and creativity, which made Europe great before. The paper will show how this approach provides the basis for durable peace, including a fruitful dialogue of civilizations.