Belt and Road Initiative Forum

What is the issue?

The second BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) forum recently concluded in Beijing, China.
With India’s decision to skip the Belt and Road Forum (BRF), here are its outcomes and the takeaways for India.

What were the concerns with BRI?

The BRI is a giant connectivity initiative by China to revive the ancient Silk Road across Eurasia and Africa.
Since 2017, India, the U.S. and other countries have raised many concerns over the project.
They had been critical of the lack of transparency with which many of the BRI projects were negotiated with governments.
Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Malaysia had second thoughts on some of the infrastructure projects over fears of a “debt trap”.
There have also been allegations of corruption in BRI projects.
The European Union had expressed that the BRI ran counter to their agenda for liberalising trade.
It said that BRI pushed the balance of power in favour of subsidised Chinese companies.

What are China's commitments now?

Chinese President Xi’s address to the BRI forum signalled Beijing's acknowledgement of the concerns on the project.
He made a commitment on “transparency and sustainability” of BRI projects.
Also, greater debt sustainability in the “financing model” of the Belt and Road under new guiding principles was promised.
China had agreed to renegotiate terms on projects, reached out to regional organisations like the Arab and African forums and the EU.
It is hoped that China will build an infrastructure financing network that is equitable and transparent, especially for smaller states.

What are the key takeaways for India?

Mr. Xi’s words on transparency and inclusivity are welcomed by India.
But they do not address India's main concern over the BRI, the CPEC.
India’s objection to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is that it runs through parts of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
Citing “sovereignty” concerns, India has, for the second time, not officially participated in the BRF.
India’s decision to skip the BRF may have led to the exclusion of the BCIM Economic corridor from the list of projects under BRI.
[The 2800 km BCIM (Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar) corridor proposes to link Kunming in China’s Yunnan province with Kolkata.
It passes though nodes such as Mandalay in Myanmar and Dhaka in Bangladesh before heading to Kolkata.]
Instead, South Asia is covered by three major undertakings listed under the BRI:

China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC)
Nepal-China Trans-Himalayan Multi-dimensional Connectivity Network, including Nepal-China cross-border railway
China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

However, India has abandoned its sharp rhetoric against the BRI this time compared to 2017.
China too had issued statements saying it would not allow the decision to affect the bilateral relationship.
This was an indicator that both would be guided on the issue by the Wuhan (summit) spirit than by the deep differences over the BRI.

Source: The Hindu