This idea is not at all new. The Kunming Initiative of the 1990s later evolved into the concept of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor, which envisioned connecting Kolkata, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Kunming in China.
However, tensions in India-China relations, ongoing border disputes, India’s objection to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Myanmar’s political instability effectively halted the BCIM project. The proposed China-Myanmar-Bangladesh Economic Corridor can therefore be seen as an alternative, a smaller version, or a reconfigured successor to the BCIM, of which India is currently absent, although it remains a geographically impacted stakeholder.
2.
How can this be implemented? Potentially in three phases.
First, by developing existing and planned infrastructure from China to Myanmar: the Yunnan-Museum-Mandalay-Kyaukphyu route, including roads and railways, pipelines, power plants and ports.
Second, by establishing connectivity between Myanmar and Bangladesh: through the Rakhine-Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar-Matarbari region, through the Teknaf or overland routes, or through sea port links.
Third, by strengthening the internal economic integration of Bangladesh: linking Chattogram, Matarbari, Payra, Mongla, Dhaka, Sylhet, northern Bangladesh and the country’s industrial areas into a regional supply chain.