History of silk and in part replaced natural silk. Following the crisis in Europe, the modernization of sericulture in Japan made it the world's foremost silk producer. By the early 20th century, rapidly industrializing Japan was producing as much as 60 percent of the world's raw silk, most exports shipping through the port of Yokohama. Italy managed to rebound from the crisis, but France was unable. Urbanization in Europe saw many French and Italian agricultural workers leave silk growing for more lucrative factory work. Raw silk was imported from Japan to fill the void. Asian countries, formerly exporters of raw materials (cocoons and
New Silk Road Initiative now commonly used by journalists to refer to China's Belt and Road Initiative. New Silk Road Initiative The New Silk Road was an initiative of the United States for Central Asia and Afghanistan, which aimed to integrate the region and boost its potential as a transit area between Europe and East Asia. The initiative was announced by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011 in a speech in Chennai. The New Silk Road initiative would have linked Central and South Asia in four key areas: Regional Energy Markets, Trade and Transport, Customs and Border Operations, Businesses and People-to-People. However,