ahmedabad even as the visit of chinese president xi jinping promises to write a fresh chapter in sinoindian relationship the start of his india sojourn from gujarat could not be more symbolic on the ancient silk route ports of gujarat served as links between china and the markets in europe and the gulf bringing wealth to gujarati as well as chinese traders reviving the ancient route is xis dream and he is striving for it through his new chinese silk route project china needs india because of its ports and strategic geographical location as an essential partner for the project read also heavy security blanket for modi jinping visit to gujarat in this backdrop xi meeting prime minister narendra modi on gujarati soil may prove crucial for getting india to collaborate in chinas efforts to revive the route moreover indias cooperation is vital as the ultimate aim of the chinese is to develop a trading network challenging those dominated by the usled west according to historians the riches of gujarati traders in ancient times came largely from the states strategic location on the silk route historian makrand mehta mentions in his book gujarat and the sea that bharuch was one of the ports that benefited immensely after the han dynasty started the trade route in 306 bc the spice islands of southeast asia including todays thailand malaysia singapore and indonesia were important meeting points for gujarati and chinese traders from the seventh to the 14th century chinese president xi jinping left with prime minister narendra modiamdavadis benefited from opium trade a development in the early 19th century became pivotal for this city due to british influence a large population of china started consuming opium and there was sudden spike in demand for the narcotic for both medicinal and recreational purposes seizing this opportunity entrepreneurs like hutheesing kesrising got opium from malwa now in madhya pradesh and started exporting it to china through ghogha and bombay ports other notable businessmen who dealt directly with china from ahmedabad include nagarsheth vakhatchand khushalchand and his son himabhai along with karamchand premchand ancestors of the sarabhai family gujaratis had pedhi in china makrand mehta mentions that mumbai no bahar a book written by ratanji faramji vacha in 1872 gave an account of gujarati traders from bombay establishing trading firms pedhi in chinese port cities such as canton the book describes the chinese as industrious and hardworking but shy people