By Shannon Tiezzi
At the SAARC summit in Nepal, China seeks deeper relationship with South Asian countries.
The 18th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is underway in Kathmandu, Nepal. SAARC consists of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The prime ministers and presidents of each of those countries gathered in Nepal for the summit, along with diplomatic representatives from SAARC observers – including China.
China has been an observer at SAARC since 2006, but is interested in pursuing full membership. China’s “all weather friend” Pakistan helped push for China’s full inclusion during the SAARC summit but, as has happened in the past, reluctance from India kept the proposal from moving forward. For now, China remains a SAARC observer, a status also claimed by the U.S., Australia, South Korea, Iran, and the European Union.
China’s delegation to the SAARC summit was headed up by Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin. While in Nepal, Liu pledged that China will seek deeper ties with South Asia, especially on the economic front. “China has put forward a series of initiatives, (including) increasing trade between South Asia and China to 150 billion U.S. dollars and investment to 30 billion U.S. dollars in the next five years,” Liu said. The $30 billion will go to road construction, Liu said.
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