China keen on extending China-Myanmar Economic Corridor to Sri Lanka

Subject IR

Section: Places in news

Context: China keen on extending China-Myanmar Economic Corridor to Sri Lanka

More about the news:

China is reportedly prioritizing the extension of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) to Sri Lanka, as revealed by the Chinese President’s Special Envoy during a meeting with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The Corridor is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and both nations aim to accelerate the implementation of the China-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement.
Sri Lanka, actively participating in the BRI, sees the extension as part of the second phase, expecting a more substantial economic impact.
China has been supportive of Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring program amid ongoing discussions with official creditors for economic recovery.
The CMEC is the newest of the six land corridors under the BRI, and has assumed prominence in place of the Bangladesh China India Myanmar (BCIM) corridor which has largely stalled.

Some more facts about China-Myanmar Economic Corridor:

China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) is a number of infrastructure projects supporting connectivity between Myanmar and China.
It is an economic corridor of the Belt and Road Initiative building road and rail transportation from Yunnan Province in China through Muse and Mandalay to Kyaukpyu in Rakhine State.