n his keynote speech at the China-Central Asia Summit on May 19, Chinese President Xi Jinping mentioned Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) envoy Zhang Qian’s westward journey from Chang’an—today’s Xi’an in Shaanxi Province in northwest China—around two millennia ago. With the mission to open the door to friendship and exchanges between China and countries west of China, Zhang had also featured in Xi’s speech on September 7, 2013 at Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University. Titled Promote People-to-People Friendship and Create a Better Future, it outlined some of the basic principles of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a China-proposed initiative that aims to boost connectivity along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes. But what does the reference to an ancient dignitary signify?
