CPEC: Truly a blessing for Pakistan’s economy
THE Chinese-style modernization is a great creation in the history of human development. The cooperation between countries under the Belt and Road Initiative is helping both sides achieve win-win results. “The Communist Party of China is concerned about the future and destiny of mankind and will work hand in hand with all progressive forces in the world. China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of international order!” General Secretary Xi Jinping demonstrated the world’s largest ruling party’s feelings at the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. The “Belt and Road” initiative proposed by China benefits the countries along the route, benefits the people and is recognized by the countries along the route. It is a relationship of cooperation, equality and mutual benefit. The construction of the Belt and Road has achieved fruitful results and gratifying results, highlighting the vigorous vitality of the “Belt and Road” cooperation.
The joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative is a development demand that conforms to the trend of the times and the actual conditions of various countries. It has received strong support from the international community and has brought tangible benefits to the developing countries. Thanks to the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was officially launched. Subsequently, a large number of energy, transportation and livelihood projects have continued to emerge under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). China and Pakistan have joined hands in the development path, building a vibrant development belt and gradually turning the corridor blueprint into reality.
The Communist Party of China is a party that seeks happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation and is also a party that seeks progress for mankind. The “Belt and Road” initiative is a grand decision made by General Secretary Xi Jinping based on his profound thinking about the future and destiny of mankind and the development trends of China and the world. At the same time, General Secretary Xi Jinping made a series of relevant statements, highlighting that the theme of building the Belt and Road together is to promote infrastructure construction and connectivity in countries along the route, strengthen economic policy coordination and development strategy docking, promote coordinated and linked development, join hands in the development path, achieve common prosperity among countries, build a vibrant development belt and strive to create a development path with policy communication, facility connectivity, unimpeded trade and people-to-people connectivity.
Over the years, the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has made rapid progress and has entered a new era of high-quality development and green development from laying the foundation and coordinating projects. Looking to the future, China and Pakistan will adhere to the goals of high standards, green development and benefiting the people, expand and deepen cooperation, create new highlights of cooperation in agriculture, science and technology, information technology, renewable energy and other aspects and build a vibrant development path.
CPEC, part of the Beijing Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), not only stands as a symbol of Pakistan-China cooperation and a tool for bilateral development, but it also serves as a tool for multilateral cooperation, inviting countries from the neighbouring regions to actively participate and benefit from this multi-billion-dollar initiative. While addressing the members of the SCO on the first day of the SCO Summit held in Islamabad in October this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, highlighted the importance of CPEC and China’s BRI in regional stability and development. He remarked, “Flagship projects, like the Belt and Road Initiative of President Xi Jinping, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is in its second phase and the International North-South Transport Corridor should be expanded, focusing on developing road, rail, and digital infrastructure that enhances integration and cooperation across the region,…Let’s not look at such projects through a narrow political prism and invest in our collective connectivity capacities, which are crucial to advancing shared visions of an economically integrated region.”
By offering vital infrastructure and enhanced trade routes, CPEC provides landlocked Central Asian countries, such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, with direct access to international markets through Pakistan’s ports. This access boosts regional trade, fosters economic interdependence, and creates new investment opportunities. For Pakistan, CPEC has become a crucial means to diversify its trade routes, reduce dependency on limited markets, and strengthen its economy through increased exports and international partnerships. The route serves as a corridor for trade and energy supply.
CPEC is promoting Pakistan’s national economic and trade development, such as infrastructure investment such as road construction, solve the facility obstacles in its economic development, and improve Pakistan’s construction environment. The Matiari-Lahore DC transmission project realizes the transmission of electricity from the south to the north, effectively solving the regional imbalance between power supply and demand. The promotion of these favourable projects can enable Pakistan to quickly join the industrial chain of economic globalization.
Now, China-Pakistan cooperation has entered a new era. In the past, China-Pakistan friendship and cooperation were mainly based on state-level assistance. What is needed in the new era is a market-driven mechanism of cooperation, exchange, common development, mutual benefit and win-win. Driven by the new model of China-Pakistan cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, Pakistan has been stable in recent years, and the investment environment and business environment have gradually improved.
In addition to the bilateral strengthening of bonds, both countries agreed to strengthen communication and coordination on high-level international issues. They agreed on the need for the resolution of all standing disputes that threaten to disrupt the peace of the region and oppose unilateral decision-making and action. Pak-China further agreed to strengthen their communication and coordination on the issues plaguing security in Afghanistan. They also expressed mutual concerns over the escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict in the Middle East.