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Opinion
Mar 12, 2021

China’s Economic Diplomacy & Fate of

South Asia
-Hari Bol Kafle

China has been South Asia’s strategic consort with economic, diplomatic and
developmental influence. However, it seems to have strained its presence in the
region, which needs to be mended through Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Before President Xi Jin Ping’s ascendancy China was also keen to play a special
role in this territory. Today, it has sought the role of an all-time strategic partner and
a substantive contributor to this region. The Chinese interest in South Asia is to
uphold an amicable relationship.

Beijing leverages BRI in nearly every country having geo-strategic implications,

especially at ports through the Indian Ocean. Going forward, the South Asian
countries should be aware of what Beijing is precisely attempting to achieve in the
region, with a view of the prospective long-term consequences of the novel plan.

Notably, China has flung savoir-faire relations to neighbours with a commitment of

common destiny and shared future. Moreover, its economic diplomacy has more
benefits than losses. It neither used strategic propaganda aggressively nor
interfered with outsiders politically. However, the Economic Diplomacy has
undergone significant changes and hosted a vivacious instrument to balance the
political intuitions after the 2008 financial crisis.

As the member countries of BRI, developing countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and
Sri Lanka have a good prospect of self-development. These nations have the
advantage of securing a close tie with China thereby enhancing imperative
infrastructure, cross connectivity, people-to-people relations, policy cooperation
and financial integration.

Unfortunately, China and India are not going hand-in-hand in their commitment to
regional development. The mutual effort and success of China and India in
economic strength-hold would be more profitable to small and developing
countries allowing the global economy to thrive.

Interestingly, their relationship is also important to heighten and secure the

economic prosperity of South Asia. Beijing is seeking a way to develop stronger
relations in an innovative way to New Delhi, which is more dependent on expanding
the multilateral and bilateral economic engagements. Today, India has been
enjoying a larger component of economic incentive along with China, sharing
multilateral Forums, including Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa (BRICS)
and Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

From the beginning of this century, the Economic Diplomacy is receiving and
rooting a quest for harmonies and has surprisingly produced many tensions. This
fact proves that they would benefit from collaborating economic and strategic aims
in the periphery.

In this sense, China and India today are trying to enhance the multilateral trading
system supporting and strengthening each others’ efforts, endorsing development
challenges, including the sustainable development goals, climate change and
terrorism. Pakistan’s attainment on China’s colleague also ensures the security of
western China’s territory, national integrity and revokes fragile terrorism agendas.

Candidly, BRI has been welcomed as an economic project and opportunity. China
also recognizes the scheme as its strategic interest in diplomatic dimensions. Thus,
the concerned countries should also play a balancing role in initiating strategic
programs like BRI or IPPS.

The South Asian people see this inception with great hope because of China’s
emergence as a superpower. However, its ED is just a strategic action enacted
upon other countries. For the time being, all the nations have seemingly allowed
China to initiate the investment in the said commencement.

Taking advantageous support from power-houses does not mean ignorance of

non-aligned strategy. Involvements with BRI or IPPS for developing countries are
just the offers of support, in which Bangladesh, Nepal or Sri Lanka can freely
render the services with the subtle art of balancing and hedging.

Even the South Asian Countries should calibrate their policies to increase
negotiating power and secure maximum developmental benefits from giant nations,
like China. Thus, China’s ED is an opportunity for the South Asian countries to form
bondage with China. Moreover, South Asian people see China’s initiatives as a
chance with the ability to enhance the prospect of prosperity in people’s life.

China has started to overview the countries of its periphery with a more
consolidated strategy rather than focusing on a separate strategy with isolated
behaviour. As a part of BRI, China has planned to link the whole of South Asia in
two different ways; CPEC and BCIM economic corridor. China’s expanding
economic strategy gradually influences the region where South Asia has reacted to
its presence differently. Being as developing and least developing countries, the
South Asian countries have more expectations with China in terms of investment,
equal beneficial trade, development and economic support.

China dream has been carried out through a number of its bilateral and multilateral
economic engagements and economic diplomacy. In the Chinese context, it is the
good premonition of their economic interests and relations. In this sense, the cross-
border economic relations have been well driven through various policy initiatives
like trade, financial aid, and investment of common sharing initiatives. The bilateral
and multilateral economic engagement with South Asia has influenced the success
of China’s economic diplomacy and its policy decision.

South Asia, having China’s clout, has more benefits where Beijing should leverage
BRI to amend the demand of every country of South Asia to get it a success. With
geostrategic implications, especially throughout the Indian Ocean, China is
attempting to observe the activities in this region to resist the Anti-China protest
and the potential long-term consequences for linking with the Middle East and
Africa. Overall, the one intense theme is that China is engaging South Asia not only
for mutual benefit, but it also exclusively assists to shape their interests and further
policy map to drive economic diplomacy. Regarding, the economic integration with
South Asia has numerous benefits to a country for shaping its interests and policy
to the ED.

The countries of South Asia, except India, have been trying to accelerate their
initiatives of connecting the economy with that of China to implement BRI.
Moreover, China has huge experiences with respecting poverty alleviation and SA
having the magnitude and depriving characters of poverty may resolve with
Chinese commitment of common destiny and shared future. India, even today,
economically is lower advancing, thus, the steady relation of China among all South
Asian countries should be an outcome of the pursuit of the innovative policies and
programs in economic, social and entire progress of development. With the active
presence of economic activities, the impact has intensified to create a Post-
American world hub in South Asia, seeking a new form of economic diplomacy.

The fate of south Asia is ill stricken by ongoing controversies among the nations.
The diplomatic works are not enough to carry out to dispel distrust in the mind of
South Asian leaders. Building a consensus for economic development and
cooperation for the larger benefits is being a vital issue to address. Here, the
intellectuals can reinforce and vigour in the dialogue with Multinational
Counterparts. In this regard, academic institutions must take a lead.

(The content is the sole responsibility of the author Kafle — the Chairman of Right World
Academy on Diplomacy)

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