The rivalry between the two Asian giants, China and India, continues not only in the area of population, but also in ancient trade routes that are being revived. If China has its famous Silk Road, India will have its Cotton Route.

The idea of a Cotton Route came from a three-day international conference titled "India and Indian Ocean: Renewing the Maritime Trade and Civilisational Linkages" that ended on Friday, reports India Times. The U.S. China and around 18 nations took part in the conference.

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The Cotton Route used to serve as trade and cultural link between India and its trading partners, and inspired by China's planned Silk Road that boosted trade the between China and served also as its cultural bridge with India, Persia, Greece and Rome.

The conference was organized by the Kolkata-based Institute of Social and Cultural Studies, which plans to open two centers --- one in Delhi and the other in Kolkata --- to conduct research on the Indian Ocean region.

The focus of the center in Delhi would be trade and business, while the focus of the center in Kolkata would be cultural matters, said Arindam Mukherjee, secretary of the institute, reports Financial Express.

To pursue the idea further, India will host an international fleet review in February 2016 at Visakhapatnam, said Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parikar who was one of the four Union ministers who attended the conference.

The idea is hinged on improving maritime security in the region since the Indian Ocean carries 50 percent of global container shipment, one-third of bulk cargo traffic and two-thirds of oil shipment. However, 75 percent of these traffic end up in other regions of the world, said Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Tagscotton route, Silk Road