Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recent expression of readi ness to promote the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) during a meeting with caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani in Tibet is a significant tes-tament to the project’s importance and Beijing’s unwavering commitment to Paki-stan’s economic development. This comes as a ray of hope for Pakistan which has been facing economic challenges.
CPEC is a flagship project under China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over the past decade, it has evolved into a symbol of cooperation between China and Pa-kistan, promising vast opportunities for economic growth, infrastructure develop-ment and regional connectivity. It highlights the enduring partnership between the two countries. However, the pace of progress had slowed down in the last four to five years due to various reasons, especially political instability and uncertainty in our country.
China’s commitment to promoting the high-quality development of CPEC reaffirms its willingness to stand by Pakistan during its economic struggle. For Pakistan, we be-lieve this project is a lifeline to grapple with economic challenges, including inflation, fiscal deficits and unemployment. The project encompasses a wide range of initia-tives, including energy infrastructure, transportation networks, industrial zones, co-operation in the agriculture sector and development of the Gwadar Port. These in-vestments hold the potential to create jobs, boost trade and improve the overall so-cio-economic landscape of Pakistan.
The fact of the matter is that the importance of CPEC extends beyond our borders. It has the potential to reshape the region’s economic dynamics by enhancing connec-tivity between China, Pakistan and other neighboring countries, especially the Cen-tral Asian States. This will not only accrue benefits for Pakistan but also open up new trade routes and markets for many nations. It is important for our government and authorities concerned to enhance the level of engagement with Chinese friends at different levels in order to accelerate the pace of work on CPEC. Special focus should be given to the projects facing long delays such as ML-1 which envisages upgradation of our rail infrastructure from Karachi to Peshawar.
