The visit of Yunnan Province Governor Li Jiheng to Bangladesh has brought to the fore the mega project of an economic corridor innovated by China and solidly backed by Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Li Jheng, during his stay here, elaborated in details to the Bangladesh leaders about the concept of Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar (BCIM) economic cooperation (EC). Bilaterally the economic cooperation between Bangladesh and China is gradually rising.
But what's the BCIM-EC all about? How are the potential and prospects of such an economic bloc which aims at reviving the old Silk Route that had once served as an economic corridor?
It was Chinese President Xi Jinping who had first floated the idea during his visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in September and October 2013. He called for joint development of an 'Economic Belt along the Silk Road' and a 'Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century' (the 'Belt' and the 'Road'). These are two major initiatives that China has made to deepen reform and opening-up and advance its neighbourhood diplomacy, which have been enthusiastically received both at home and abroad.
Dr Manmohan Singh was ebullient over the corridor and reportedly said in excitement: "I dream of a day…one can have breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore, and dinner in Kabul." But what's about Dhaka? Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jun did not miss it when he talked about the initiative. He recently wrote: "We can dream of a world where one can have breakfast in Kunming, lunch in Dhaka, and dinner in Kolkata."
A dream is the first step towards materialisation of any project. There is nothing wrong in dreaming. The BCIM-EC could really be an effective engine of growth if it could proceed from the confines of files to reality. But reality sometimes appears to be grim. The BCIM-EC can only flourish if it means business seriously. But if politics creeps into it with regard to the present-day global polarisation, it will meet the fate of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation which is now in limbo. Not much is being heard of the SAARC in making strides in several core areas of cooperation, collaboration and implementation of its projects. The same is true about the BIMSTEC whose summit was held in Myanmar recently.
Bangladesh's support to the BCIM-EC is total. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is on record having appreciated China's 'proactive role' in establishing the economic corridor through BCIM-EC while greeting her Chinese counterpart on the occasion of the 'Chinese New Year'.
The corridor is expected to ease the flow of goods between the world's two largest economies, India and China, and providing greater economic resources to the burgeoning markets of Bangladesh and Myanmar. The four member countries, with their total GDP of $9,300 billion, have the potential to become a strong block in global economy. The present Bangladesh government, prefering regional relations to distant Western friends, has also backed the BCIM initiative as mentioned by the Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed. "We cannot work with the SAARC and SAFTA the way we want to. I think, we will benefit more if we can go ahead with the BCIM properly," he said. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith also said that the country is laying a greater emphasis on relations with China because of its global economic influence.
The BCIM has four main objectives to implement. It focuses on result-oriented and project-based cooperation, all aimed at bringing tangible benefits to the people in the region. The first 'link' is policy. The second 'link' is road. The third 'link' is trade. The fourth 'link' is currency. The BCIM-EC would promote greater trade settlement in local currencies and more currency swap schemes, strengthen bilateral and multilateral financial cooperation, set up financial arms for regional development, and make the region's economy more competitive globally.
The fifth 'link' is people. China and the neighbouring countries need to shore up popular support for their state-to-state relations, promote inter-civilisation dialogue, and enhance exchanges, understanding and friendship among different peoples.
The four nations have for the first time drawn up a specific timetable on taking forward the long discussed plan, emphasising the need to quickly improve physical connectivity in the region, over two days of talks in the south-western Chinese city of Kunming -- the provincial capital of Yunnan, which borders Myanmar.
The corridor, it was agreed, will run from Kunming to Kolkata, linking Mandalay in Myanmar as well as Dhaka and Chittagong in Bangladesh. The plan would "advance multi-modal connectivity, harness the economic complementarities, promote investment and trade and facilitate people-to-people contacts", the four nations said following the Joint Study Group session.
China, officials say, sees the corridor as a platform to not only boost strategic ties with India, but also as a means to inject vitality into its landlocked southwestern provinces, which have the highest poverty rates in China.
Both India and China held separate consultations with Bangladesh and Myanmar, agreeing to hold a first official meeting in China. India was represented at the talks by Joint Secretary (East Asia) at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, who was joined by the Deputy Planning Minister of Bangladesh, the Vice Chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, and a senior economic affairs official from Myanmar.
To underline that no country will dominate the initiative, the four nations said the corridor will be taken forward on "the principles of mutual trust and respect, mutual interest, equitable sharing of mutual benefits".
Bangladesh, in order to benefit from the BCIM road connectivity, needs to prepare itself for the corridor which will facilitate both exports and imports. Both Chinese and Indian markets are so huge that the country's traditional and non-traditional exports can have a good market in terms of their prices. As labour cost is still low compared to that of China and India, Bangladeshi goods can have an easy sailing in those markets. Export product diversification needs to be given high priority with particular emphasis on standardisation.
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The potential of BCIM economic corridor
Rahman Jahangir | Published: April 02, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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