The Southern Silk Road, The One Belt and One Road Strategy Trade Opportunity for Thailand

Abstract

This article aimed to study the past flourishing trade route namely, the Silk Road, which consisted of two routes: the Northern Silk Road and the Southern Silk Road. It also intended  to focus on the Southern Silk Road route of the past, or along R3A Highway from Bangkok, to Kunming  in Yunnan province, China. The study was based on Thailand's trade opportunity in relation to the strategic One Belt and One Road that was seen as driving Chinese economy. According to Greater Mekong Sub-region Economic Co-operation (GMS), it had led to the creation of trading opportunities along the connecting route within the region. Consequently, these were the channels for expansion  of Thai products and materials exported to the western part of China. The study found the factors  that should be considered by the entrepreneur for trading in China varied and/ or were different  for each province in China, such as preferences and consumer behavior as well as cultural influences on a decision to purchase any product or service.