Revival of Silk Route:

Indo-China link-up timely - Hashim

The agreement signed recently to construct the China-Pakistan economic corridor and the signing of MoUs and agreements worth $24 billion between India and China are positive and timely initiatives to help revive the Silk Route, Past President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Founder Chairman, China-South Asia Business Forum, Macky Hashim told the tenth annual China-South Asia Business Forum at Kunming City, China recently.

He was speaking on the theme 'Promote the construction of Silk Road Economic Belt; accelerate the pace of business cooperation.

The forum is held annually to promote and develop trade and commerce between China and South Asia.

"The Government has decided to carry on projects with China, which shows commitment of Sri Lanka to deepen socio-economic ties with our Chinese friends," he said.

Excerpts:

The revival of the Silk Route as an 'economic corridor' will not be the first in history. Rather, as Headrick pointed out, the use of sea and land routes have assisted in the globalization process of opening Asia, as early as the 19th century.

The Suez Canal, opened in 1869, helped the great powers during the time. The canal through the Sinai Peninsula not only made trade and empire grow faster but also economical. The world's superpower of the time, Great Britain, made great strategic use of it, by transporting goods, officials and soldiers to Bombay and other key colonial hubs in an easy and affordable manner.

Similarly, the revival of the Silk Route as an economic corridor would achieve the same goals in a cooperative and democratic manner. Road and rail links and development alongside the Silk Route will further strengthen the bond of brotherhood, cultural infusion and strong and deeper relationship between China and South Asia, he said.

The China-South Asia Business Forum, which was jointly launched in 2004 by CCPIT and the SAARC CCI during my Presidency, has grown from a platform to an institutional arrangement, wherein, not only the business leaders of China and South Asia are actively involved in promotion of trade between two great civilizations of the world but has also attracted political leaders of China and South Asia, he said.

This topic is quite important in many respects, First, it reminds us of a network of trade and cultural transmission routes that were central to cultural interaction through regions of the Asian continent connecting the West and East, by merchants, pilgrims, bhikkhus, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from China and India to the Mediterranean Sea during various periods.

Second, its significance for the promotion of economic cooperation as historical information reveals that trade on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the civilizations of China, the Indian subcontinent, Persia, Europe, the Horn of Africa and Arabia, opening long-distance, political and economic relations between the civilizations.

Third, the Silk Road served as a means of carrying out cultural trade among the civilizations along its network. Fourth, and most importantly, its length, extending to 6,437 kilometres, is really enormous. Just imagine the pace of development, if we encourage and promote construction of the Silk Route Belt. We all are aware that adequate and efficient infrastructure is a strong indicator of development.

Unfortunately, the infrastructure in South Asia is not up to the mark. Whether it is tele-density, logistics performance index and road networks accessibility, South Asia lags behind. The region needs investment to attain the level of development, Although, the Government of China is engaged in several projects in all South Asian countries, we invite Chinese enterprises, public and private, to further invest in South Asia. China and South Asia, working in unison will not only bring economic leadership and renaissance to Asia but also true and sustainable leadership by China and South Asia in the Asian Century, he said.