China's plan to develop a road connecting Tibet and South Asia

Kathmandu. 

China has announced plans to develop a road connecting Tibet and South Asia, an autonomous region bordering Nepal.

This is stated in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and the Long-Term Plan for 2025 made public by China.

According to China's state-run Xinhua news agency, China's central government will help develop Tibet and South Asia as "an important passageway".

The plan was presented to the Chinese parliament, the National People's Congress.

However, China has said nothing about how to develop the route. In South Asia, Tibet shares borders with Nepal, India and Bhutan. China has long pursued a policy of expanding its market in South Asia via Tibet and Nepal.

Talks are underway between Nepal and China on a multi-dimensional cross-border connectivity project under the Belt and Road Initiative. Both the countries have also taken forward the construction of railways. A transit and trade agreement was signed between Nepal and China in 2016 and a protocol was signed in 2019.

For the past few months, China has been holding talks with South Asian countries Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh on various issues. China has been discussing cooperation with these countries on BRI for several months. Analysts say the BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar) has backtracked on its earlier commitment to build a new route.

Research Director of Nepal Institute of International Cooperation and Engagement Dr. Pramod Jaiswal says Chinese President Xi Jinping has placed special emphasis on the development of Tibet.

Jaiswal said, "Tibet is less developed than other provinces of China, so for its development, China wants to have good relations and cooperation with all countries in South Asia, including Nepal."

According to Jaiswal, Tibet is also a strategic place for development, so there is an analysis by China that lagging behind in development could affect its security interests. In recent times, China has placed special emphasis on the development of Tibet.

Nepal and India are at the center of the plan put forward by China. Jaiswal says, ‘China's gateway is Nepal and India and some are Pakistan. China's relations with India are not very good, so Nepal is an option for China to enter South Asia.