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Belt and Road Initiative
ChinaDiplomacy

Comment: China’s belt and road strategy already proving a boon for South Asia

Plagued by territorial conflicts, poor governance and limping economies, the region has drawn inspiration from China’s plan and unleashed an effort to join a shared destiny, Yasir Habib Khan says

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A Pakistani paramilitary soldier stands guard in this 2016 file photo near the Beijing-funded “megaport” of Gwadar, in southwestern Pakistan. China, a close strategic and economic ally of Pakistan, has co-built several projects there, including two nuclear power stations. Photo: AFP
Yasir Habib Khan
South Asia’s emergence as a leading economic power is in the making, and credit goes to China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”. The grand plan has set into motion game-changing strategies that will lead to free trade agreements, economic integration, physical infrastructure plans, shared growth and structural reforms, all in tune with future demands.

Since this epic plan was announced, South Asia – weighed down by a reputation for regional conflicts, security threats, bad governance, impaired transparency, an energy crisis, poor infrastructure, fragile institutions and limping economies - has unleashed its effort to be part of a shared destiny.

Check out our visual explainer of the five main projects of China’s Belt and Road Initiative

It is because of the tremendous vision inherent in shaping this new Silk Road that the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a critical regional alliance in South Asia accounting for 21 per cent of the world’s population and 7 per cent of its economy, will receive a new lease of life after staying dysfunctional due to a long decade of differences among member countries, especially

Pakistan and India. To help SAARC benefit from regional connectivity, China has already stepped up its endeavour to become a full member of the association.

A Pakistani naval personnel stands guard beside a ship carrying containers during the opening of a trade project in Gwadar port, some 700km west of Karachi in this 2016 file photo. At the time, Pakistan opened a trade route linking the southwestern post of Gwadar to the Chinese city of Kashgar as part of a joint multibillion-dollar project to jump-start economic growth in the South Asian country. Photo: AFP
A Pakistani naval personnel stands guard beside a ship carrying containers during the opening of a trade project in Gwadar port, some 700km west of Karachi in this 2016 file photo. At the time, Pakistan opened a trade route linking the southwestern post of Gwadar to the Chinese city of Kashgar as part of a joint multibillion-dollar project to jump-start economic growth in the South Asian country. Photo: AFP

In the view of MP Lohani, former Nepalese ambassador to Bangladesh, China’s ambitious plan for regional connectivity will revitalise SAARC. So China’s induction into the regional body on the basis of its geographical, historical, cultural and economic features will be a breath of fresh air.

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