Summary:
The new Silk Road is a network of ancient trade routes, modern transport networks and emerging economies.

Full article:
(CNN) -- THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE NEW SILK ROAD . From ancient passage ways to modern trade routes, this week, in a special edition, Marketplace Middle East travels along the new Silk Road and looks at how the economies of the Middle East are re-defining global growth. The Gulf plays an integral part in the new Silk Road; trade between China and the Middle East is growing at around 30% annually and since 2006, Asia has been the largest trading partner to the Gulf Cooperation Council. John Defterios talks to Ben Simpfendorfer, author of the Silk Road Economy, about this new median of growth. Plus, Leone Lakhani finds out how the expanding scope and reach of Middle Eastern airlines is putting them at the forefront of international trade and business. And Iraq's strategic position along the ancient Silk Road once fashioned Baghdad into a bustling center of trade, bringing with it both wealth and prestige. Fred Pleitgen looks at how its new position on the modern Silk Road is bringing with it some regional rivalry.