China’s One Belt One Road Project:
China’s “One Belt One Road” (OBOR) initiatives has implications for huge cross border business activities spanning more than 40 counties, 4 billion engaged population involving USD 21 trillion of GDP. In fact, OBOR, is a development strategy initiated by Chinese President XI Jinping in 2013. OBOR’s significance lies in that-
- It is a key initiative for China’s government to build stronger economic links between Asia and Europe;
- Provides the premise for a Chinese framework for organizing multinational economic development through the land-based “Silk Road Economic Belt” and
- oceangoing “ Maritime Silk Road”; and
- Incorporates the principal aim to boost connectivity and commerce between China and 64 countries with a total population of 4.4bn by building infrastructure and boosting financial and trade ties.
It cannot be denied that OBOR aims to redirect China’s own domestic overcapacity and capital for regional infrastructure development to improve trade and relations with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Central Asia and European countries. It could have as much impact on China’s internal economy as it will have internationally. China’s top priority is to stimulate its domestic economy via exports from industries with major overcapacity such as steel, cement and aluminum. Many will be build-transfer-operate schemes in which large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) will lead the way, but smaller companies will follow. The domestic plan divides China into five regions with infrastructure to connect neighboring countries and increase connectivity. Each zone will be led by a core province: Xinjiang in the Northwest, Inner Mongolia in the Northeast, Guangxi in the Southwest and Fujian on the coast.
During the recent visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Bangladesh, both countries have signed 27 deals on cooperation in a number of sectors including coastal disaster management and construction of the Karnaphuli tunnel. In fact memoranda of understanding have been signed under China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, for cooperation, maritime cooperation, joint feasibility study on a free-trade area, new ICT framework, counter-terrorism collaboration, capacity building and sharing of information, tackling climate change risks, regional and international cooperation, and cooperation on power and energy sectors. Of these projects, the estimated loan to come for the Padma Bridge rail link project is $2.57 billion, Dhaka-Chittagong railway project $3.03 billion, Dhaka-Ashulia elevated expressway $1.39 billion, Sitakunda-Cox’s Bazar marine drive expressway and coastal protection project $2.85 billion and four-lane Dhaka-Sylhet highway project$1.6 billion.
SOURCE: 2 nd China-South Asia Legal Forum Kunming, Yunnan Province
Protocol Speech at the opening ceremony of the 2 nd China-South Asia Legal Forum
Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha
Chief Justice of Bangladesh.
December 15, 2016
