[By GuanchaNet Columnist Shen Yi]

I. China-Sri Lanka and China-Bangladesh Cooperation in the Geopolitical Framework: A Model of Inclusive Development

In recent years, the regional cooperation pattern in South Asia has been undergoing profound reshaping. Against the backdrop of the global economic focus shifting eastward and the trend of "de-globalization," China is continuously advancing high-quality co-construction of the Belt and Road Initiative with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This not only deepens cooperation in the economic and trade sectors but also outlines a win-win path that transcends traditional geopolitical competition logic in the evolution of regional order.

On May 29, 2025, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao attended the Eighth China-Sri Lanka Economic and Trade Joint Committee Meeting in Colombo and paid a courtesy call on President Dissanayake of Sri Lanka, sending out a strong signal once again: China highly values building future-oriented cooperative relationships with South Asian countries. These series of high-level interactions are a powerful interpretation of China's consistent adherence to the principle of "consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits." Unlike some forces that promote unilateral dominance through coercive discourse and structural advantages, China's cooperation framework adheres to mutual respect and common development, providing South Asian small nations with room for maneuver and development autonomy.

Under this framework, neither Sri Lanka nor Bangladesh has become a "strategic vassal" of certain external powers as speculated by some voices; instead, they have actively aligned themselves with China's development opportunities with an equal participation mindset. This strategic arrangement not only strengthens these countries' resilience against external shocks but also objectively forms a real balance to the regional hegemonic discourse logic.

II. The Institutional Logic and Practical Connotation of "Trade Facilitation"

"Trade facilitation" is one of the "five connectivities" of the Belt and Road Initiative, and its connotation goes far beyond tariff reduction or cargo circulation. It is a deep coordination mechanism across systems, rules, and cultures, helping to substantively defend multilateral trade rules based on genuine multilateralism at the regional level under the threat of rising unilateralism. At this China-Sri Lanka Joint Committee meeting, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a Trade Facilitation Working Group, marking a key leap from policy initiative to mechanism implementation.

According to multiple releases from China's Ministry of Commerce since 2025, similar mechanisms are also being progressively strengthened in China-Bangladesh cooperation. In early March, China and Bangladesh launched consultations on the alignment of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and focused on issues such as trade facilitation, digital customs clearance, and optimization of origin rules. These measures form bridges for institutional alignment within the region, representing strategic efforts to counteract the threat of economic fragmentation globally.

More importantly, "trade facilitation" does not create a zero-sum game of "mutual concessions"; rather, it establishes a platform mechanism centered around China, absorbing diverse development models, optimizing regional connectivity, and exploring the latest achievements of "Global South" innovation practices. In this process, China has not exported a single system template externally but fully respects the actual development stages and policy goals of its partners, accumulating valuable experience for building multilateral consensus.

III. Industrial Chain and Supply Chain Cooperation: Replacing "Alternative Decoupling" with "Deeply Embedded Mutual Integration"

Another significant outcome of this China-Sri Lanka dialogue was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on industrial chain and supply chain cooperation. Against the current backdrop of global industrial chain restructuring, the signing of this memorandum reflects the two countries' consensus on "stabilizing amidst chaos and responding to changes through cooperation."

Objectively speaking, as some countries propose "risk reduction" strategies and even "de-Chinese-ization," attempting to build exclusive industrial clusters, some regional forces push so-called new paths replacing Chinese manufacturing under the banners of "South-South cooperation" or "Global South," actually packaging "fragmentation" as "diversity," making their true intentions crystal clear.

In stark contrast, China deepens industrial cooperation with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, promoting an "embedded complementary" development path. For example, Chinese enterprises investing in areas such as textiles, energy, and digital infrastructure in Bangladesh not only avoid forming "resource-extraction dependence" but also drive local industrial upgrading and labor skill enhancement. Of particular note is that in the fields of green transformation and digital economy, China's proposed cooperation frameworks emphasize technology sharing and sustainable development concepts, demonstrating the responsibility and foresight expected of a developmental major power. This not only constitutes a substantial upgrade of traditional South-South cooperation but also enables the "Global Development Initiative" to be implemented at the regional level, contributing positively to the continued healthy development of green energy and the digital economy, and making active contributions to achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.

IV. From Regional Cooperation to Global Governance: The Learnable Nature of the Chinese Model

From a broader global perspective, the world is objectively facing extremely arduous challenges: unilateralism, economic nationalism, and geospatial blockadeism are mutually reinforcing, WTO reform is progressing slowly, and multilateral mechanisms are being weakened. In this context, China's deepening economic and trade collaboration with countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is essentially injecting "institutional confidence" and "cooperation confidence" into global governance, using substantive cooperation to defend the global multilateral trading mechanism.

For instance, in this meeting, China clearly stated its intention to work with Sri Lanka to "jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system centered on the World Trade Organization, firmly opposing unilateralism and protectionism." This statement hits the core issue of global governance: it is not the mechanism itself that has failed, but the lack of institutional sincerity in promoting its positive operation.

In comparison, certain regional powers attempt to look down on neighboring countries due to their great power status, consciously or unconsciously viewing adjacent geospatial areas as exclusive spheres of influence, habitually engaging in zero-sum games. Their verbal "decentralization" and "Southern unity" often manifest as hypocritical attempts in practice. Such models not only lack economic sustainability but also struggle to win genuine trust and support from regional nations.

China's development path, development model, and foreign strategic practices provide important insights here: on one hand, providing development resources and institutional platforms through "non-hegemonic intervention," and on the other hand, respecting national sovereignty and development rhythms, constructing replicable, sustainable, and inclusive global cooperation paradigms. In regions such as South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, China's economic and trade cooperation is increasingly seen by more countries as a rational choice balancing sovereignty and development.

V. Conclusion: The International Public Goods Attribute of China's Economic and Trade Cooperation

Observing China's economic and trade dynamics with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh since 2025, it is not difficult to see that these collaborations are not temporary measures but a new regional cooperation architecture with institutional depth and structural stability. Its core is to construct a new international cooperation system characterized by "rule integration + platform sharing + cooperative empowerment."

This system contrasts sharply with traditional notions of "regional dominance," "system export," and "political binding," emphasizing that "development is the goal, cooperation is the path, and mutual trust is the prerequisite." In a sense, it constitutes a "Chinese solution" within the framework of "global public goods."

In the current context of complex geopolitics and rising uncertainty in global trade, the strategic significance of China's cooperation with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is self-evident: it not only reflects China's sense of responsibility as a core country in the global industrial chain but also injects real strength from the "non-Western system" into the restoration and reshaping of global multilateral mechanisms.

More importantly, China never takes "defining others' futures" as a prerequisite but demonstrates the feasibility and reality of a new type of global partnership through "respecting differences, sharing opportunities, and synergistic prosperity." This path is being embraced and recognized by an increasing number of countries and will write a vivid chapter in the future world order.

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Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7510247179567563290/

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