China, India push for BCIM corridor
December 21, 2013, 5:55 am

The belt hopes to retrace the lost trails and revive commercial trade in the ‘Southern Silk Route’ [Getty Images]

A Chinese spokesperson said the four countries discussed priority areas relating to the corridor, and that they “reached consensus on transport infrastructure, investment, trade, logistics and culture”.

This was announced after a two-day meet of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor working group, which ended Friday in Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

The four nations have also signed a joint research plan on the construction of the corridor, said Hua. This could significantly stimulate the economic growth of large and medium-sized cities along the corridor.

Consultations have been held earlier on the feasibility of a BCIM Economic corridor, a region host to 40% of the world’s population. The belt hopes to retrace the lost trails and revive commercial trade in the ‘Southern Silk Route’.

China proposed the building of the BCIM Economic Corridor during Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to India in May.

Once the BCIM economic corridor is established, it will combine the China-ASEAN-India Free Trade Area, shaping the biggest free trade area in the world.

The Indian Prime Minister Singh has also said that India would “participate with great enthusiasm” in talks for the China-proposed BCIM Economic Corridor.

“We believe that the BCIM Economic Corridor can potentially reinforce our existing connectivity initiatives and we have expressed our support in principle to the idea during Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to India,” he said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the proposal is significant in deepening friendly cooperation and connecting East Asia and South Asia.

The BCIM economic corridor includes Yunnan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and West Bengal, Bihar and states in northeastern India.

TBP and Agencies