AS 2026 marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China, the historic milestone should be a moment of national reflection on a partnership that has been rightly termed the “iron-clad” guarantor of our sovereignty, qualitative industrialization and prosperity. A series of high-level ceremonies and seminars have celebrated this enduring bond. Yet, paradoxically, this year has also witnessed a painful and peculiar surge in domestic criticism aimed directly at the heart of this friendship specifically, the transformative China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its upgraded Phase 2.0.
A disinformation blitz is underway across vlogs, YouTube commentaries and electronic media, where a new narrative war is being waged. This assault is not organic dissent but a synthetic contagion propagated by pseudo-intellectuals, self-styled economists, rent-seeking former bureaucrats and puppetry journalism. By deliberately distorting hard macro- and micro-economic indicators, these actors portray China as detrimental to Pakistan’s economy, industry, agriculture, services, energy security and regional connectivity, fuelling a negativity seemingly aimed at dismantling a strategic axis that anchors regional stability.
The empirical counter-narrative, however, is overwhelming. CPEC is not merely an infrastructure programme; it is a catalyst for structural transformation. It has injected over $28 billion in direct foreign investment, generating a significant multiplier effect across Pakistan’s real economy. The corridor has addressed the binding constraint of energy deficiency by doubling national production capacity, generating over 8,000 megawatts of electricity and modernizing the national connectivity network with 510 kilometres of highways and an 886-kilometre high-voltage electricity grid.
According to verified data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the Planning Commission, CPEC Phase 1.0 successfully broke the nation’s hysteresis of chronic blackouts. By adding thousands of megawatts to the national grid, it rescued Pakistan from a deep industrial depression and literal darkness.
The diversification of the energy mix into coal, hydro, solar and wind, alongside modern transmission infrastructure, corrected a catastrophic market failure in energy distribution. Projects like the Karot Hydropower plant now internalize positive externalities by lowering long-run average energy costs and fostering a de-carbonization pathway. Furthermore, the foundational infrastructure at Gwadar the deep-sea port, the East-Bay Expressway and the free zones has retrofitted Pakistan’s geoeconomic relevance, providing a strategic alternative maritime chokepoint especially critical given the ongoing US-Iran conflict and the vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz.
Obviously, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) have heavily contributed to Pakistan through over $28 billion in direct investments, doubling the country’s energy production capacity, building major transport networks, creating over 260,000 jobs and establishing foundational infrastructure like the Gwadar Seaport. It generated more than 8,000 megawatts of electricity and building 510 kilometers of highways and 886 km of the national electricity grid confirming its constructive contribution to Pakistan’s energy and economy alike.
According to many published reports, CPEC has significantly contributed to Pakistan’s economy by boosting the development of industries such as energy, infrastructure, agriculture and textiles. The CPEC is now entering a new stage of high-quality development, expanding cooperation in science and technology, agriculture and people’s livelihood.
Contrary to this evidence-based reality, figures like former FBR Chairman Syed Mohammad Shabbar Zaidi have initiated a revisionist debate through selective video interviews. Engaging in cognitive dissonance, Mr. Zaidi ignores the revealed comparative advantage CPEC has given Pakistan, engaging instead in personal enclaving that serves self-glorification at the direct cost of bilateral credibility. His framing of the Sahiwal Coal Power Plant as a negative externality and environmental threat is a case study in analytical dishonesty.
A comparative techno-economic analysis refutes this claim decisively. The 1,320-megawatt Sahiwal plant is a frontier project utilizing advanced super-critical technology and high-efficiency electrostatic precipitators, ensuring that emissions of particulate matter (PM), SOx, NOx and mercury remain safely below the thresholds set by the World Bank, Japan, the EU and Pakistan’s own NEQS.
It is the first environmentally compliant coal-fired power plant completed under CPEC, equipped with a Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS) and an Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station. Far from being a threat, it is a live model of how to decouple industrial output from environmental degradation.
The social ledger of CPEC is equally robust. The corridor has facilitated human capital formation on a massive scale, with about 30,000 Pakistani students in China and over 22,000 citizens learning Mandarin a critical soft infrastructure for knowledge transfer. As CPEC enters its high-quality development Phase 2.0, expanding into science, technology and precision agriculture, these intergenerational linkages will define our economic sophistication.
To safeguard these strategic assets, a genuine Corridor of Knowledge is essential an intellectual shield against hybrid warfare. The author has been conducting workshops and strategic dialogues to build this resilience, culminating in a comprehensive book titled “75th Anniversary of Pak-China Diplomatic Relations: Pak-China Friendship: Strategic Vision, Achievements, Way Forward and China’s Economic Miracles.” This work projects the historical depth, present engagements and futuristic domains of a mutually beneficial convergence.
For enhancing better understanding about Xi Jinping’s Global Initiatives the writer has already conducted and held globally first ever certificate program in Pakistan and became pioneer in public advocacy. The Pakistani state and its policy architects must remain vigilant against these vultures of disrepute. The national stakes are simply too high to allow false, fake and fictitious narratives to dismantle the axis of our future prosperity.
—The writer is President, the Centre for Knowledge and Public Policy, Regional Expert: China, CPEC, BRI & World Affairs.
