ABSTRACT
In 2013, President Xi Jinping came with the idea of the revival of the old Silk Road to connect to south Asia, central Asia, southeast Asia and Europe from the East. China’s BRI and regional organisation BIMSTEC has its marked presence in the Bay of Bengal littoral states. Both aim to connect and promote economic growth among participating countries. But with BRI projects and investments from China, the involved countries face several limitations. In this chapter, an attempt is made to draw parallels between the agendas of BRI and BIMSTEC and lay down suggestions to strengthen BIMSTEC as an organisation. To do so, the chapter tries to answer three sets of questions. First, how China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has created a challenge in BIMSTEC countries. Second, are BIMSTEC countries equipped enough to address these challenges posed by the BRI, and lastly, can BIMSTEC be an alternative to China’s BRI.
