Wednesday, June 22, 2016

http://dailyasianage.com/news/22727/bcim-for-security-connectivity-and-cooperation

BCIM for security, connectivity and cooperation

M. S. Siddiqui
China does not have security alliances unlike the USA, but in lieu of such, it does have intimate diplomatic
relations and economic co-operation with many of its neighbors, which are labeled "strategic partnerships". Old
history is playing a role in China's present day foreign policy like the revival of the ancient trade routes. More
importantly, China has shown that it can make full use of geography and its economic clout in accelerating
interconnectivity, promoting interdependence, and in heightening the risks of conflict.
China was the "world factory" of consumer goods from the past to make Chinese exports 'world factory', and
recently upgraded to provide advanced equipment to the world's major bases. China's direct investment spree
started in the mid-2000s. By the end of 2011, China's total global OFDI stock stood at $365 billion from an
annual average of below $3 billion before 2005.

The current wave of globalization continues to transform the business landscape and impact companies around
the world. China's increasing economic presence on the world stage has undoubtedly played a part in this global
trend.

China is encouraging their entrepreneurs to participate in overseas infrastructure and capacity to cooperate to
promote the railway, electricity, communications, construction machinery and other equipment to the world.
This is a new location for their own expertise to China in the global economy, but also the international
economic cooperation. Again many countries in this region needs huge infrastructure, which is China's
equipment manufacturing 'go out', provides a rare opportunity.

China's initiatives seem to be directed westwards, though its initiatives now also cover parts of East Asia and
the South Pacific. China's response could be inferred to be a quadruple-combo of diplomatic and economic
initiatives, namely: (1) the One Belt One Road (OBOR) strategy or Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI), comprising
of the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR); (2) the Asian
Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB); (3) the revival of the Free Trade Area of Asia and the Pacific
(FTAAP) initiative; and (4) the intensification of bilateral partnerships with its neighbors.

The OBOR Action Plan was unveiled. The plan highlights the goal of linking infrastructure and trade between
two continents (Asia and Europe) comprising of six sub-continents and sub-regions (Southeast Asia, South
Asia, Central Asia, Middle East, Eastern Europe, South Pacific), which would involve around 50 countries with
4.4 billion people (or 63 percent of the global population). More explicitly, the OBOR initiative aims to
prioritize cooperation on policy, investment, finance, and people-to-people exchanges. If successful, the volume
of trade generated is expected to surpass $2.5 trillion in a decade.

In the economic structure adjustment and transformation and upgrading of the background, to high-speed rail,
nuclear power as the representative of China's equipment manufacturing industry is becoming an important
engine of China's economic growth, and global trade investment patterns have a significant impact.
The "Economic Belt" is a network of highways, railways and other critical infrastructure linking China to
Central and South Asia, the Mideast and Europe. The maritime route entails building or expanding ports and
industrial parks in Asia, the Mideast, Africa and Europe. It is a blueprint for Chinese areas along the Silk Road
that has linked Asia and Europe for more than 2,000 years.

China will contribute $40 billion to its new Silk Road fund designed to improve trade and transport links in
Asia. The goal of the fund is to "break the connectivity bottleneck" in Asia. China has another step comes on top
of a $50 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) that China established last month with 20 other
nations. The bank and the new Silk Road fund would help to finance China's plans to develop a "Silk Road
Economic Belt" and a "21st Century Maritime Silk Road."

China planned and promoted the construction of six economic corridors which are major projects aiming to
promote Asia-Europe connectivity. The plan includes economic corridors linking China-Mongolia-Russia,
China-Central and Western Asia, China-Indo-China Peninsula, China-Pakistan and Bangladesh-China-IndiaMyanmar as well as the New Eurasian Land Bridge, which will be the focus of efforts related to Asia-Europe
connectivity. These corridors are for connectivity in infrastructure, trade, finance, the private sector, policy and
industrial chains. The initiative for BCIM -EC is one of those six economic corridors, is expected to usher in an
unprecedented era of China's integration and cooperation in diverse areas not only with the countries in China's
neighbourhood. It was known earlier as Kunming Initiative, which was formed for sub-regional cooperation
revolving around trade, commerce and connectivity, when they began to on explore the opportunities that could
be tapped by a regional economic corridor encompassing the four neighboring countries. It focus on some
significant projects and let the construction of 'One Belt and One Road' commence as soon as possible," while
adding that the cooperation between China and the countries involved would be mutually beneficial.
The cooperative areas between the four members would include:-(a) Physical Connectivity, (b) Trade in goods,
services and investment including finance, (c) Environmentally sustainable development and (d) People to
people contacts.

Based on the principle of mutual benefits, the plan also connects the Silk route economic belts. A number of
economic corridors are planned in China's immediate neighborhood- the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar
economic corridor (BCIM EC) and China-Pakistan economic corridor are in the making. Economic corridors
provide connection between economic nodes or hubs, in which large amounts of economic resources and actors
are concentrated.

Apart from the Silk Routes China has set up the Tibet Railway to Lhasa to be extended to Nepal. Beijing is also
planning to build a road and rail connections to Bangladesh via Myanmar. China has already build two pipeline
systems for oil and natural gas from the Arabian coast to the Yunnan province. It is also modernizing the transKarakoram highway linking China's Xingiang province with Pakistan's north via the Kashgar corridor and down
to the Arabian Sea. In South, China has built new ports in Hambantota in Sri Lanka and Gwadar in Pakistan.
According to an academic, the global centre of economic gravity that was once at a point deep in the middle of
the Atlantic Ocean in the 1980s has shifted east over the past 30 years, and could well shift even further over
the next 30 years clustering around the border between China and South Asia mostly in India. He observed that
as incomes and populations change through time, so too does the world economic centre of gravity shift about
on Earth. China and India together with other neighboring countries, will, at the time of the 21th century, rank
among the forest of world nations and Bangladesh will be beneficiary for it's strategically location between to

bigger economies and will play a positive role in peace, stability and development in Asia, even in the world at
large.

Intra-BCIM trade has seen rapid increase from USD 6.0 billion in 2001 to USD 90 billion in 2011. The increase
has been chiefly driven by China and India while the contribution of Bangladesh and Myanmar remains
negligible. Bangladesh can cash for the BCIM initiative with active participation in Transfer of technology and
investment in infrastructure and Industrial investment for taking advantage of corridors with advantageous
cost effective communication and production in strategically located country between China, India and on route
to Europe etc.
The relationship between Bangladesh and China dates back centuries. Historical records show that there were
three Silk Roads that connected primeval China with the South Asian countries. The Southern Silk Route was a
bridge between the eastern part of Bengal i. e. Bangladesh and the Middle Kingdom. War and other conflicts in
the region, particularly during and after World War II, disrupted the Sino-Bengal historical ties and
connectivity.

Bangladesh can only adapt strategic security policy of partnership, diplomatic, economic co-operation and
BCIM EC is the best opportunity to strengthen the national security due to location between two military and
economic giants.

The writer is legal Economist