Launching the China Pakistan Economic Corridor for Ten Years and Releasing Multiple Development Dividends Reporter | China Pakistan | China Pakistan Economy for Ten Years

Islamabad, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Launch of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor for Ten Years, Releasing Multiple Development Dividends

Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Chao

On July 31st, the Pakistani government held a Longchong Festival in the capital Islamabad to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the launch of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. As an important pilot project for the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", the construction of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor has achieved fruitful results in the past decade and has become a "new benchmark" for China Pakistan friendship. Various sectors in Pakistan believe that the corridor has not only created multiple development dividends, but also truly practiced the global governance concept of consultation, construction, and sharing.

Economic development regains vitality

In 2008, an article on the Internet in Pakistan entitled "Pakistan faces more crises: electricity, flour, sugar, water, natural gas crises - where is the way out?" triggered extensive discussion. The article describes: "Over the past two weeks, in many areas of the old town of Lahore, the capital of the eastern Punjab province, there has often been no electricity, gas, or water for a whole day... The news says that in vast rural areas, only 2 to 4 hours of electricity is provided every day."

Zemir Awan, founding chairman of the Global Silk Road Research Alliance, a Pakistani think tank, said that at the time, Pakistan faced difficulties in development due to coercion and pressure from certain Western countries. "It was the China Pakistan Economic Corridor that revitalized Pakistan," he said.

The construction of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor began in 2013. In 2015, the governments of China and Pakistan signed over 50 cooperation agreements, determining a "1+4" cooperation layout centered on the construction of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, with Gwadar Port, energy, infrastructure construction, and industrial cooperation as the four major priorities. Corridor construction and Pakistan's development have entered a fast lane.

This is a photo taken on June 22, 2022, at the Karot Hydroelectric Power Station in Punjab Province, Pakistan. Shen Jizhong

In just a few short years thereafter, a series of projects began construction, completed, and put into operation, strengthening Pakistan's strength and bones. With the completion and commercial operation of coal fired power stations in Sahiwar, Kasim Port, and Khubu at the "Chinese speed", the shortage of electricity in Pakistan has significantly improved since 2017; A number of renewable energy projects such as Karot Hydropower Station, Dawo Wind Power Project, and Bahawalpur Photovoltaic Power Station have enriched Pakistan's energy structure; The integration of coal and electricity projects in the first and second blocks of the Thar Coalfield has been put into commercial operation to support Pakistan's self-sufficiency in fuel.

This is a scene taken on May 28, 2021 at the Sahiwar Power Station in Punjab Province, eastern Pakistan. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zou Shuhua

Pakistan's Minister of Planning, Development, and Special Projects, Ahsan Iqbal, stated that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor energy and electricity project has provided great assistance to Pakistan in resolving the serious electricity shortage it had previously faced.

Over the past decade, the corridor has also completed the upgrading and renovation project of the Karakoram Highway Phase II on the China Pakistan Friendship Road, the Lahore Orange Line rail transit project, and the Peshawar Karachi Expressway.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shabaz once said that Pakistan has benefited greatly from corridor cooperation, and the construction of the corridor has greatly improved the accessibility of all Pakistani roads. "The driving distance from Lahore to Karachi has been reduced from more than 20 hours to less than 12 hours, which is a huge change.".

This is Gwadar Port located in southwestern Pakistan. Shen Jizhong

Significant progress has been made in the construction of Gwadar Port. Yu Bo, Chairman of China Overseas Port Holdings Limited, responsible for operating Gwadar Port, told Xinhua News Agency that Gwadar Port has now built a multi-purpose terminal with three 50000 ton berths, and the port has full operational capacity. The first phase of the Gwadar Port Free Zone has been completed, with 35 enterprises settling in and an investment of over 3 billion yuan.

There have also been new breakthroughs in the field of industrial cooperation. The first phase of the Lashakai Special Economic Zone project has been officially completed, and the investment promotion work has achieved positive results.

In Lahore, Pakistan, an Orange Line subway train is preparing to enter the station. The first subway in Pakistan, the Lahore Orange Line, welcomed its first batch of passengers on the same day, marking Pakistan's entry into the "subway era". Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Tian

The corridor of happiness benefits the people

Analysts believe that in the past decade since the launch of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, it has solidly utilized economic construction to benefit the Pakistani people, promoted further integration and development between China and Pakistan, and helped build a closer China Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

According to data provided by the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, as of the end of 2022, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor has brought a total of 25.4 billion US dollars in direct investment to Pakistan, created 236000 jobs, and helped Pakistan add 510 kilometers of highways, 8000 megawatts of electricity, and 886 kilometers of the national core power grid.

Iqbal stated that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor has become an important symbol of close friendship between the two countries. Over the past decade, the construction of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor has achieved fruitful results, promoting regional connectivity, trade, openness, and prosperity, creating thousands of job opportunities, and bringing enormous economic and social benefits to the Pakistani people.

This is a photo taken on March 22, 2017 in Gwadar, Pakistan, of Faqur Elementary School, jointly built by the China Foundation for Peace and Development and China Port Control. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Tian

Iqbal pointed out in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that whether it is the completed or under construction projects such as the Gwadar Port Free Zone, seawater desalination plant, vocational and technical colleges built with Chinese assistance, China Pakistan Friendship Hospital, Faqur Elementary School, or the solar power generation system equipment donated by China to the Gwadar people, all have promoted local socio-economic development and directly benefited the local people.

Shakir Ramah, CEO of the Asian Institute for Ecological Civilization Research and Development in Pakistan, told reporters that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor indirectly creates more job opportunities, with over 100 local small and medium-sized enterprises benefiting from the China Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which helps to solve poverty in Pakistan.

This is a photo taken on June 7, 2016 of ZTE Energy's Bahawalpur photovoltaic power plant located in the Bahawalpur region of Punjab Province, Pakistan. Shen Jizhong

Promoting regional development and prosperity

China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners and staunch friends, and the friendship between the two countries has remained strong over time. International observers point out that under the promotion of the two countries, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor has become an important force in promoting the development and prosperity of Pakistan and even the region.

The Pakistan Observer pointed out in a recent article that the transformative impact of the "the Belt and Road" initiative and the China Pakistan Economic Corridor on Pakistan's infrastructure has benefited Pakistan and its neighbors. It can not only promote regional connectivity, stimulate economic growth and promote stability, but also provide opportunities for South Asian countries to develop infrastructure, strengthen connectivity and promote economic growth.

This is a photo taken on November 18, 2019 of the section of the Khwelyan Mansehra Expressway in Pakistan's Karakoram Highway Phase II project. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Tian

Associate Professor Hassan Bout of Bahria University in Pakistan wrote that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor is a manifestation of regional connectivity. Its vision is to improve people's lives by promoting inclusive development and common prosperity, thereby creating new markets, expanding supply chains, eliminating bottlenecks in comprehensive development, ensuring energy security, and creating a large number of employment opportunities for the local people.

Irfan Shahzad Takarwi, Director of the Eurasian Century Research Institute in Pakistan, told reporters that as cooperation in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor deepens and solidifies, Pakistan will continue to integrate into the global industrial chain, benefit from the development of a globalized economy, and then build a closer community with a shared future between China and Pakistan, achieving common prosperity, development, and win-win outcomes.