Journal Press India^®

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South Asia has emerged as a strategic zone as some of the high-density early harvest projects, viz. the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) arrangement, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM), the Trans-Himalaya Corridor, etc. have to pass through the region. As ex-ante, the economic interactions in trade and investment in South Asian countries have expanded quickly in recent years. The thematic perspectives and contextual analysis suggest that securing economic integration with South Asia, a region located at the intersection point of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road, becomes crucial for India’s strategic presence in the Eurasian hinterland as well as to prevent a perceived policy of containment to confine China in East Asia. Indeed, South Asian countries seem to have a more significant role in BRI's success or failure. Therefore, China has to prove to the world its honesty and commitment to fostering economic integration with South Asia without expansionist agenda so that BRI related projects become a reality.

Keywords

South Asia; China, India; Trade; Investment; Infrastructure.

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