Synergy of Exposition 2022

The Sixth Silk Road International Exposition focuses on deepening cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative for all BRI member states. With positive trends on trade, attention paid to green development and regional connectivity prospects, the expo provides optimism for countries and regions across the globe.

The Sixth Silk Road International Expo 2022 also brings greater prospects of regional connectivity, synergy and shared benefits for member states and regions across the globe. With deeper cooperation on the BRI agenda, areas such as green development, smart manufacturing and infrastructural networks connecting Asia with Europe opens up opportunities for collective prosperity and solidarity.

The expo featured participants from over seventy countries and regions including Thailand, Singapore and Uzbekistan, at a platform where strengthening integration and interdependence is emphasized. On facts alone, optimism is grounded on trends of investments and trade over the past nine years which indicate significant progress between China and BRI countries. Note that from 2013-2021, $230 billion worth of two way investments were witnessed between the two sides while the total volume of trade stood at $11 trillion. Upward trajectories allow for member states in 2022 to benefit from additional meaningful investments which will benefit domestic livelihoods and stimulate growth. This is important in 2022, given that the international community continues to reel from the devastating economic effects from the Ukraine conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Progress witnessed also debunks the myth of debt trap diplomacy which has otherwise been conveniently promoted by the United States to demonize Chinese economic initiatives. Note that Bangladesh’s finance ministry issued a clarification over a fabricated report published by the Financial Times regarding debt trap fallacies as detractions from reality. As a BRI member state, Bangladesh’s development is a priority given that out of its GDP of $416 billion only $4 billion is owed to China which includes concessional loans with lower interest rates. Such claims lack any credibility as indicated in the significant progress witnessed over the years between China and BRI countries.

Yet beyond exposing the debt trap fallacy, optimism is also grounded on how promoting the BRI can usher in employment opportunities to local populations while concomitantly develop special economic zones (SEZs). Assistant Commerce Minister, Li Fei claimed that by the end of 2021, there were 79 zones for economic and trade cooperation in 24 BRI countries with investments worth $43 billion which created 360,000 local jobs. This is complimented with the existence of trade corridors such as the land-sea freight routes as part of the new International Land- Sea Trade Corridor between ASEAN and China which boosts integration prospects in the Asia Pacific. Hence, rising trade volumes, a strong infrastructure and strategic cooperation between China and South East Asia brings with its greater possibilities for countries to benefit from.

Prospects, however, are not limited to trade alone. Areas such as the digital economy and e-commerce can also be greatly enhanced globally. Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjayev at the opening ceremony of the exposition, for example, spoke about fully leveraging complimentary economic strengths to boost the bilateral relationship which is grounded in mutual respect, strong trading links and a joint resolve to promote collective prosperity in Central Asia. Prosperity of regions such as Central Asia is also linked with alleviating humanitarian suffering in neighbouring Afghanistan which has reeled from decades of conflict with no let up after a year since US forces withdrew from the country.

Additionally, as climate change has a devastating impact on regions across the world, it is equally important to invest in green development. Building sound ecosystems which protect the environment and stimulate economic activity can save future generations from desertification, deforestation, rising temperatures and inundation. A focus on expanding green development strategies in the Sixth Silk Road International Expo, hence fit into development models pursued by countries such as Singapore which strive to balance commercial activity with environmental conservation. Note that as the United States continues to neglect climate change with crass apathy it is imperative that BRI states capitalize upon existing infrastructures to address issues which affect all of humanity.

Evidence suggests that negative coverage of the BRI is based on fallacies which are not grounded in reality. In fact, economic corridors sponsored by China have been well received in the international community with little appetite for American bellicose rhetoric. This also applies to regional economic partnerships as well such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which, based on trade volume alone, is the largest trading bloc in the world history. Hence, it makes perfect sense that countries in Central Asia which are grappling with a tenuous security situation in Afghanistan are highly receptive towards the BRI as it helps them realize the lost ground during the Ancient Silk Road era. What the 2022 expo demonstrates is that there are greater chances that new Silk Road or the BRI can yield dividends particularly as the Western economic model of crass capitalism and exploitation is only perpetuating income divides and contributing to growing unrest in countries across the world. Sri Lanka’s example serves as a reminder that regional connectivity and not debt burdens are the way to go.

It is clear that positive trends, historical precedents and multiple avenues for future cooperation as encompassed at the Sixth Silk Road International Exposition is a win-win situation for all concerned.

The writer is an Assistant Research Associate at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute