Jahangir's World Times First Comprehensive Magazine for students/teachers of competitive exams and general readers as well.
1. China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor
The idea of China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor (CMREC) was proposed by China in September 2014 during the first trilateral meeting of the heads of state of the three countries in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. On June 23, 2016, the three countries inked a development plan for the proposal, the first multilateral cooperation plan to form part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The CMREC has two key traffic arteries: one extends from China’s Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to Hohhot and on to Mongolia and Russia; the other extends from China’s Dalian, Shenyang, Changchun, Harbin and Manzhouli to Russia’s Chita.
Seven major areas of cooperation have been envisaged: transport infrastructure and connectivity; port construction, and customs and border inspection and quarantine services; industrial capacity and investment; trade; cultural and people-to-people exchanges; environmental protection and cooperation with adjacent regions. Transport is the main focus.
2. New Eurasian Land Bridge
It is an international passageway linking the Pacific and the Atlantic. It goes from China’s coastal cities of Lianyungang and Rizhao to Holland’s Rotterdam and Belgium’s Antwerp. The 10,800-kilometer-long rail link runs through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany, and serves more than 30 countries and regions.
Several transcontinental rail routes have already entered into service. These include the Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe Railway (reaching Germany’s Duisburg via Poland), the Chengdu-Xinjiang-Europe Railway (reaching Poland), and the Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe Railway (reaching Madrid). The construction of associated highways, power transmission lines and ports is progressing in a steady manner.
3. China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor
The China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor (CCWAEC) links China and the Arabian Peninsula. The vast region it covers generally follows the trajectory of the ancient Silk Road.
The corridor starts from China’s Xinjiang and traverses Central Asia before reaching the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Peninsula. It crosses five Central Asian countries and 17 other countries and regions in West Asia (including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey).
4. China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor
The China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor (CICPEC) extends from China’s Pearl River Delta westward along the Nanchong-Guang’an Expressway and the Nanning-Guangzhou High-speed Railway via Nanning and Pingxiang to Hanoi and Singapore.
This land bridge links China with the Indochina Peninsula and crosses the heart of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia. It is expected to boost China’s cooperation with the ASEAN countries.
5. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was proposed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a visit to Pakistan in May 2013. The 3,000-kilometer-long corridor starts from China’s Kashgar and ends at Pakistan’s Gwadar, and connects the Silk Road Economic Belt in the north and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in the south. It is a trade network of highways, railways, pipelines and optical cables. It is a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative.
6. Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor
The proposal for the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIMEC) was unveiled by China and India during Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to India in May 2013, with the objective of linking the two huge markets of China and India and enhancing regional connectivity.
In December 2013, the first meeting of the BCIMEC joint working group was held in Kunming, and a joint study plan was signed by all parties, leading to the establishment of a mechanism for cooperation among the four governments.
