The Belt and Road Forum which ended on Monday in the Chinese capital of Beijing was not in the spotlight of mainstream media in the West.

The One Belt One Road initiative, informally known also as the New Silk Road, is a major infrastructure initiative proposed in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

There are several reasons behind mainstream media keeping silent on the achievements under the New Silk Road framework.

First, the New Silk Road is a global project that contravenes the traditional Western vision of the world, journalist and Sputnik contributor Ruslan Karmanov wrote in an op-ed.

"The main point of the conception is simple. It grows from the historical Silk Road trade route, transforming it into a new symbol of peaceful and fair global development. This new model does not divide the world into the exploiters and the exploited. Instead, it offers development for all regions, including optimization of logistics, common trade rules and removal of tariff barriers," the author pointed out.

According to the article, the New Silk Road is aimed at getting broader access for Chinese-made products to the European market and, as a result, increasing investments in China’s productive economy.

"This strategy will stimulate economic growth and China will continue to remain irreplaceable as the global industrial and production center. […] While the West bets on a post-industrial economy, China will continue to develop its real economy to guarantee its leadership in industrial and production sectors for decades ahead," Karmanov wrote.

Moreover, the author noted that several years ago, after the New Silk Road was announced, many in the West predicted that the initiative would put Moscow aside because China would develop trade routes to Europe bypassing Russia.

However, the author noted, the actual situation after several years is totally different.

"Over 10 trade routes have already been launched, running from China to Europe via Russia’s territory, including the Trans-Siberian railway. Currently, new logistics options are in consideration. The Kazakhstan-Russia-Belarus route is the most efficient way for Chinese products to reach the European market," the article read.

Finally, according to the author, the West realizes that it does not have the leading role in the New Silk Road project implemented by China and its partners.

"It turns out that Western countries have found themselves on the outskirts of a global project, in which their role will remain the same as before – importing China-produced goods. How could the West admit that it is not involved in a new global development project," the author concluded.

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