The Chinese Ambassador to India suggested that his country could rename and even reroute the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, popularly known as
CPEC, in order to appease New Delhi.
His Excellency Mr. Luo Zhaohui
proposed this controversial idea in a speech at the Centre for Chinese and South-East Asian Studies late last week, which is the second time that he spoke about it when considering that the
first instance was half a year ago in May. It's difficult to interpret why this is being brought up yet again, though there are two branches of understanding that can help with figuring out what might be going on.
The first one of course is that the Ambassador isn't serious about the proposal and is simply bringing it up for diplomatic reasons and in order to temporarily alleviate India's hysterical jingoistic worries about CPEC. That's indeed very possible, though the second school of thought on this topic is equally plausible as well, and it's that Beijing might actually be somewhat serious about this suggestion.
To explain, China would ideally like for India to join its One Belt One Road (OBOR) global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, as the complementary synergy between these two Asian Great Powers could literally have world-changing consequences for International Relations,
but New Delhi's ultra-nationalist government has thus far refrained from this due to its maximalist approach to the Kashmir Conflict and fears of being inundated with Chinese goods. In an attempt to temper their unease, Ambassador Zhaohui proposed that China could "create an alternative corridor through Jammu and Kashmir, Nathu La pass or Nepal to deal with India's concerns", which would in essence connect over two billion people and create a powerhouse of geopolitical gravity if it was successful.
Comment: See also