China, which likes to keep a tight rein on the media, has invited Southeast and South Asian journalists to forge a network to push forward its regional connectivity agenda.
Published : 06 Jun 2014, 11:36 PM
Beijing is currently promoting its national strategy of building “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” that would connect the two regions.
It is also pressing ahead with the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor plan with its provincial capital Kunming as its hub.
Media exchanges would give the connectivity idea “a new height”, Hai Jiang, vice-director of the Kunming’s information office, told a group of journalists from Southeast and South Asia currently on a visit on the Yunnan province invitation.
He said they were building relations with media to ‘highlight’ the connectivity agenda.
At least 45 journalists from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand are visiting the province which is China’s gateway to the Southeast and South Asian countries.
The provincial government has undertaken similar exchanges at least thrice since 2011 with an aim to showcase Kunming, the spring city.
Journalists witnessed the opening of the China-South Asia biggest expo on Friday and would be taken to its country sites and places of natural beauties in the next three days of stay.
“Kunming is one of the first in China to be recognised as ‘the best tourist destinations’ with over 80 tourists attractions and more than a dozen top national tourism routes,” its information office says in a message distributed to the media.
The city is connected to the China’s coastal areas through Guizhou and Guangxi provinces to the east, to the north with mid-China, south with Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, and west to Myanmar, India and Pakistan.
“Kunming is the window for China to open up to the five regions of Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, southern Europe and Africa,” the vice-director said.
He encouraged network among the visiting journalists so that “connectivity continues”.
China’s new set of reforms and opening-up policy unlocked an additional $ 500 billion of overseas Chinese investment potential and imports over of $ 10 trillion in the next five years, creating new and greater opportunities for South Asian countries.
Its vice-premier Wang Yang on Friday at the opening of the China-South Asia expo said China was ready to transfer technology to South Asian countries.
He said they would also cooperate in mega infrastructure projects that include energy, technology and road through BOT (build-operate-transfer) or public-private-partnership.
“We should seriously work on BCIM economic corridor.”
Yang said China was looking forward to zero tariff regime of 95 percent commodities traded with LDCs in South Asia.
If it is so, Bangladesh will get this benefit from its largest trading partner.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who also spoke at the opening of the expo, responded positively.
The BCIM road connectivity is ‘feasible’, she said, referring to the last year’s Kolkata-to-Kunming car rally via Dhaka and Mandalay.
“There is a growing demand that the connectivity be strengthened by road and railway links,” she reciprocated in her speech.