VOL 24 NO 192 REGD NO DA 1589 | Dhaka, Saturday, May 27 2017
http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/05/27/173572
OBOR to propel China to global leadership M. S. Siddiqui
A group photo of the participants in the OBOR Forum held in Beijing, China on May 14-15, 2017.
With nearly 10 per cent share in the global trade, China continues its drive to dominate the global trade. It is becoming more influential economically, diplomatically and geo-strategically with a shift from 'low-profile' international strategy to take on a greater role in global affairs. Its initiative is aimed at enhancing trade and political relations with Europe and Asia through export of its capital, technology and service globally.
On the other hand, China needs raw materials, oil from the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa and South-East Asia. China's international transportation routes, relating to exports or imports, have to be secure and stable.
Since 2013, China has taken two major initiatives - the Silk Route Economic Belt (SREB) and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Route (MSR), initially labelled under the slogan, 'One Belt, One Road' (OBOR). The term 'Silk Road' has been in use since the 19th century and refers to the traditional East-West trading network across Eurasia and the Indian Ocean region that flourished prior to the 16th century. This network comprised both overland and maritime trading routes.
The new Silk Road proposes to link China with Europe allowing trade and transport corridors across Central Asia and Russia. The Maritime Silk Road includes maritime links through the Straits of Malacca to the Indian Ocean, the Middle East and Africa. These ambitious plans are proposed to establish the Silk Road Economic Belt, aimed at facilitating land-based trade across the Eurasian landmass, encompassing three of the five routes: (i) linking China to Europe through Central Asia and Russia; (ii) connecting China with the Middle East through Central Asia; and (iii) bringing together China and Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Indian Ocean. The 21st CMSR uses Chinese coastal ports to: (iv) link China with Europe through the South China Sea and Indian Ocean; and (v) connects China with the South Pacific Ocean through the South China Sea.
By the term "Silk Road", the Chinese government emphasises the commercial and open nature of the modern version of this network. At the same time, the term evokes memories of China's past as a strong and prosperous country - a status China's current leadership is trying to restore under a drive it calls the Chinese Dream. The Chinese sometimes describe it as the country's 'second opening' after the 1979 model of opening up the economy towards the market system which led to China's rapid growth over three decades.