Boosting Trans-Himalayan Cooperation

China is celebrating the 75th anniversary of founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). After 25 years, it aims at achieving the second centenary goal of founding of the PRC with great rejuvenation. The writer would like to approach Nepal's modern multi-dimensional economic connectivity cooperation with the PRC under the framework of bilateral cooperation.   

In the hindsight, we have the case of Kunming Initiative started in late 1990s through non-state organisation actors from Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM). The BCIM countries got together in Kunming envisioning formation and operation of a BCIM economic corridor. After efforts of about 14 years, governments of India and China, Bangladesh and China, Myanmar and China agreed to move ahead at the inter-government level with the works on implementing BCIM economic corridor concept.  

India-China oil pipeline 

Let us also take stock of the recent history. During the Second World War, several communication links were developed between eastern parts of India and Yunnan, a province in south-western China. One of them was the 3218-km-long oil pipeline between Calcutta and Kunming – known as the longest oil pipe line at that time. The great Himalaya has never been a barrier for the construction of transportation infrastructures, mobility of people, goods and services. An air route was also created for supplies to the Chinese side during the War. This Trans-Himalayan route was figuratively named "The Hump" as military transport aircraft were flown from Assam to Yunnan. 

In 2015, this writer had an opportunity to visit Dehong Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan, which forms the closest part of China with the Bay of Bengal. In Dehong, I could observe the remnants of the said oil pipe line.  Construction of highways, new settlements were in full swing. In July 2016, when I revisited Dehong for 2nd Trans-Himalayan Development Forum, the construction of several infrastructures were largely complete, adding value to the established border trade and economic zones in the Ruili City and its Wanding Town along China's Myanmar border.  

These border economic zone and industrial park were established to promote trade and economic exchanges between China and Myanmar. They included the processing, electro-mechanical, local agricultural and biological resource industries. Since China-Myanmar trade and economic exchanges have been growing fast, Myanmar became one of Yunnan's biggest foreign trade partners. 

In a manufacturing unit which was observed during the visit, the most notable feature was its labour component - all the labour employed in the unit were from Myanmar. Chinese border authority issued a special pass for the Myanmar labour to get engaged in the specified industrial zone on the Chinese side of the border. The goods produced in the industrial zone were also exported to other South East Asian markets.  In December, 2021, China and Laos completed a railway linking Boten on Yunnan border with the Laotian capital Vientiane under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

Arguably perhaps it is immaterial who makes an initiative first. More important is whether the initiative is open and merits participation and legitimate support of the stakeholders.  China-Nepal-India (CNI) economic corridor has been in the offing for some time. As Nepal happens to be in the middle sector of the Trans-Himalaya territory that New Delhi and Beijing consider least problematic from territorial dispute point of view, Nepal's own territorial dispute with India and infrastructural connectivity gaps with China make it a high imperative to first regularise, modernise and strengthen the basics of the bilateral cooperative relations for following reasons. 

First, China and India may make a trade-off by utilising their comparative advantage in the regional cooperation organisations such as BCIM, BBIN and the thinking like CNI and make the overlapping cooperation equitable within the sub-regions as well as between the regions. Second, India and Nepal should work on regularising their international border. This will help establish a more secure trade zone and industrial corridor on the Dehong cooperation model. 

Third, China and Nepal need to concentrate on removing the infrastructural connectivity gaps through modern and efficient means of transport and communication. In the second decade of the BRI, China recognises an adaptive model of BRI cooperation which takes care of people's bottom-up development aspirations with an emphasis on the green economy. In this context, two countries have reopened 14 border points for trade and people-to-people movements after years of closure due to inadequate border and trade management, health and security logistics. China has demonstrated its unwavering commitment to building a Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network with Nepal, involving railways, roads and energy links.

Fourth, Nepal and other neighbouring countries, as a matter of fact, figure in One Belt and One Road vision and action document (2015/03/28) in the context of promoting "the border trade and tourism and culture cooperation" with Tibet Autonomous Region.  As such, in the first phase, the immediate cooperation area could be Nepal and adjoining Tibet plus Sichuan and adjoining provinces. As the BRI is an open initiative, it must in parallel address the environmental issue in the region where China, Nepal and India are major stakeholders. Nationally planned projects can be responsively linked to the BRI framework for investment. 

Nepal, Tibet Autonomous Region and parts of India in the Trans-Himalaya area face double environmental insecurity. They are in the forefront of climate change vulnerability.  The other perhaps less known more grievous cause of this insecurity is environmentally modified weapons that can target an area with heat and jamming waves, prolonged floods and drought, and other disasters. 

Connectivity projects

Development of significant connectivity projects, therefore, should have a comprehensive umbrella of environmental conservation, security and green development - in terms of both greenhouse emissions and environmentally modified weapons. Relevant institutions of in Nepal, China and India may initiate the cooperative research and monitoring works in close association with the development agencies.  A recently established Trans-Himalayan Research Centre, a component of a memorandum of understanding signed between the Tribhuvan University and Sichuan University, China can be instrumental in galvanising these works.

Jin Liqun, president of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, says, "You cannot take people into believing, no matter how nice the words you have. Just forget about; just do your job." The quality of our cooperation culture determines the level of trust and confidence. Our common destiny binds us - we cannot afford to serve an exclusive interest at the cost of the others.  

(Dr. Gautam is secretary general of China Study Centre Nepal).