Recently, China has convened a rare quadrilateral dialogue with the Foreign Ministers of their friendly countries – Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan, pledging to strengthen cooperation among the four nations in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic as well as boosting their economic recoveries, including through regional connectivity projects.
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Key-Points
China also proposed extending the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan, as well as taking forward an economic corridor plan with Nepal, called the Trans-Himalayan Multi-dimensional Connectivity Network.
All the four countries supported the maintenance of multilateralism, strengthened the role of the World Health Organisation (WHO), backed the realisation of a ceasefire in Afghanistan during the epidemic, and the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.
China asked the three countries at the quadrilateral meet to take advantage of their geography, strengthen exchanges and connectivity between the four countries and central Asian countries, and safeguard regional peace and stability.
The remarks assume significance as it came amid the border tensions between India and China. The quadrilateral meeting also came at a time of deepening concerns over the India-Nepal relationship due to border disputes at Kalapani region.
China is making concrete strategic inroads in South Asia which will necessarily impact India’s interests. Experts are of the opinion that attempting to rope in three members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) grouping, without including India, is a provocative move by China and should be seen as a message.
