Redai dili (Jul 2024)
Obstacles to Geo-Economic Cooperation in the China-Myanmar Indian Ocean New Channel and Its Collaborative Mechanisms
Abstract
In the era of globalized geo-economics, international big channel are changing the way geo-economic elements flow across borders, expanding cooperation spaces such as ports and border-free trade zones to more distant inland areas and shaping new ways of cross-border geo-economic cooperation. As an international land and sea channel connecting China and Myanmar, the China-Myanmar Indian Ocean New Channel (hereinafter "the Channel") is of great importance for promoting geo-economic cooperation between the two countries and the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. However, owing to various obstacles in geo-economic cooperation, the geo-economic effect of the Channel has not been effectively brought into play. In this study, the obstacles to geo-economic cooperation in the Channel and its collaborative mechanisms were analyzed to provide important scientific and technological support for enhancing its geo-economic effects and strengthening geo-economic cooperation between China and Myanmar. The natural geography of the region with its high mountains and deep valleys and the frequently occurring natural disasters are natural obstacles that limit the geo-economic effect of the Channel. Moreover, the difference in economic development between China and Myanmar is not conducive to the deepening of geo-economic cooperation in the Channel. Complex armed conflicts have disrupted the construction of the Channel and China's investment in its route, and the potential intervention of India and the United States will become an added constraint on its further development. Furthermore, the multiple stakeholders game in the construction of the Channel may bring geo-risks. Contrary to preconceived notions, geo-economic cooperation in the Channel is not a strategy for regional control, but rather to create an international trade corridor deeply related to transportation logistics, supply chains, industrial chains and value chains. To promote geo-economic cooperation in the Channel, its construction should be based on a multi-level collaborative mechanism for geo-economic cooperation. At the national level, the docking of development strategies between China and Myanmar should be strengthened by promoting integration of the Channel into the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthening the docking of China-Myanmar policy communication mechanisms, and formulating a long-term development strategy plan for the Channel. At the channel level, the geo-economic effect of the Channel should be upgraded by promoting the linkage of internal and external infrastructures, strengthening geo-economic element cross-border flow and industrial cooperation, and deepening economic and trade cooperation with Myanmar and the Indian Ocean region. At the stakeholder level, a consultation mechanism involving multi-stakeholder participation should be established by strengthening the docking of multi-stakeholder interests, coordinating the mechanism of China-Myanmar port docking, and creating a three-dimensional risk prevention mechanism for the Channel.
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