A PAKISTANI PERSPECTIVE

By Makhdoom Babar

C hina is known for its skill,inspiration and innovation.The Chinese people,the followers of thinkers and philosophers like Confucius(551-476 BC),are recognized in the global community as a collective of brilliant minds and progressive ideas.China’s leaders,then,have long been known to embark on major maneuvers with the sole aim of serving the people of China and humanity as a whole.

In 2013,Chinese President Xi Jinping,after being inspired by the overland and maritime Silk Road trade routes established 2,000 years ago to link East and West,came up with the idea of reestablishing these major trails: the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),with the intention to lift connectivity along and beyond these ancient paths.

The BRI consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.Its participating states account for nearly 75 percent of the world’s population and represent more than half of the world economy.

The Silk Road Economic Belt is an intercontinental passage connecting China with South Asia,Central Asia,Southeast Asia and Europe,while it also connects Southeast Asia,South Asia,the Middle East,the South Pacific and parts of Africa with Europe.It has six major economic corridors,including the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor,the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor,the New Eurasian Land Bridge,the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor and the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor.

Of the BRI’s six economic corridors,the CPEC has emerged as by far the most dynamic component of the initiative.It is a long-term systematic project to promote economic cooperation.

Spanning over 3,000 kilometers,the corridor features many mega projects in transportation and infrastructure development,energy shipping and maritime affairs,investment and industrial cooperation,as well as socioeconomic upgrading.Total project duration is estimated at 15-20 years,but in the one decade since the BRI’s launch,almost 80 percent of the projects have been completed within the estimated time.

China’s determination to move forward with BRI components such as the CPEC is a clear indication that China sticks to its principled stance of win-win cooperation.

Most of the energy-related projects have already made a great impact on the lives of the people of Pakistan who were suffering from a huge energy crisis.

The CPEC has further established a framework of regional connectivity that will not only serve the interests of China and Pakistan but will also have a great impact on connectivity across Iran,Afghanistan,the Central Asian republics—namely,Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan,Tajikistan,Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan,and the rest of the region.Once completed,the CPEC will not only lift the Sino-Pakistani relationship to new levels but will also transform Pakistan into an economic hub in the region.

Right from the get-go,some Western and regional news outlets have on several occasions spoken out against the BRI,and the CPEC in particular,almost propagating that the CPEC has been put on hold because China is no longer interested in this component of the BRI due to Pakistan’s fragile security situation.

However,despite the pace of CPEC projects somewhat slowed during the past couple of years due to the extraordinary measures taken for the security of the workers at the CPEC project sites,the fact of the matter is that both Pakistani and Chinese leaders,officials as well as investors have celebrated the corridor’s success so far and are satisfied with its progress.

China’s determination to move forward with BRI components such as the CPEC is a clear indication that China sticks to its principled stance of win-win cooperation.Hence,all the components of the BRI,including the CPEC,are bound to succeed and transform the world into a better,more secure and peaceful community with a shared future for humanity.