Research On The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC)in The Context Of The Belt And Road Initiative

The "Belt and Road" initiative will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year since it was proposed in 2013,and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC),which was launched in the same year,is also celebrating its 10th anniversary.The CPEC is the "early and pilot" project of the "Belt and Road" initiative and has been highly valued by the leaders of China and Pakistan and all sectors of society from its conception to the subsequent construction and development.China’s economic diplomacy has been flourishing rapidly since the new millennium and has gradually become an important part of major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners,and Pakistan is one of the key targets of China’s economic diplomacy with neighboring countries.In recent years,the two countries have exchanged frequent high-level visits and maintained close cooperation in many fields.The construction of the corridor reflects the trade diplomacy,investment diplomacy and aid diplomacy in China-Pakistan economic diplomacy,and the projects and achievements of the corridor are also model examples of policy coordination,facilities and infrastructure connectivity,unhindered trade,financial integration,and closer people-to-people ties(a five-pronged approach)in the main cooperation contents of the "Belt and Road" initiative.The CPEC is a showcase of China-Pakistan economic cooperation and development.So far,22 projects in the first phase of the corridor have almost been completed,and dozens of other projects are under construction or completed,the range of which cover energy,transportation infrastructure,people’s livelihood and other areas,and a large number of projects have already brought tangible benefits to the people of both countries.Since 2021,the corridor has entered a new phase of expansion and enrichment,with a focus on special economic zones,agriculture and social and livelihood areas.During this phase,early harvest projects will be consolidated to ensure the smooth operation of completed projects,while accelerating the progress of ongoing projects.In the context of "Belt and Road" initiative,the CPEC and the economic diplomacy of the two countries also face risks and challenges from multiple directions.Several key risks lie on the Pakistani side,mainly including:1)Economic risks,Pakistan’s level of economic development is backward and the government’s debt to GDP ratio remains high,making it unable to provide stable funding for the construction of the corridor projects;at the same time,Pakistan’s business environment is underdeveloped.Obstacles include the relevant departments having complex approval links,low efficiency,and serious corruption getting in the way.Moreover,Pakistan’s transportation and communication infrastructures fall behind,and transportation channels are insufficient and inefficient,which increases the difficulty of Pakistan’s domestic and international trade and the difficulty of economic and trade exchanges between China and Pakistan.(2)Political risks,including the threat of terrorism,ethnic separatist forces and regional political strife.The first threat that calls for urgent attention is terrorism and violent attacks.Due to the infiltration of terrorism in neighboring Afghanistan and the active Pakistan Taliban(TTP),there are frequent terrorist attacks against the corridor construction and Chinese engineers in the project construction areas.What is particularly worrying is that the "TTP" has taken advantage of the public health crisis and social governance crisis during the outburst of COVID-19,reversing the trend of its being suppressed in previous years and showing a tendency to resurgence;and under the incitement of ethnic separatist forces and regional political strife,the corridor construction has been constantly discredited by the media,which has exposed the corridor to controversy,misinterpretation and slander.3)The risk posed by COVID-19,as a serious public health crisis,went beyond public health realm,and the shutdown of production due to the pandemic brought about a profound economic crisis and a serious reversal of the upward trend of Pakistan’s economic development.This in turn has aggravated corruption,making social governance more difficult and undoubtedly adding to the already unstable social environment in Pakistan.In view of the above,this paper mainly summarizes the background of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and gives an overview of its construction,collates the progress and achievements of the key projects of the corridor and the early harvest projects in the first phase,and on this basis focuses on the economic,political and public health threats faced by the corridor and China-Pakistan economic diplomacy on the Pakistani side,as well as the relevant practical measures taken by both countries in the face of these challenges.On the economic side,the CPEC has generated a great amount of jobs to the local people,greatly improved the local infrastructure,promoted the enhancement of the investment environment in Pakistan,and attracted a large amount of foreign investment into the country.In response to the terrorism crisis,China and Pakistan have always been determined to have zero tolerance for terrorism and have stepped up the fight against terrorist forces.After Pakistan joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO),the two countries have strengthened cooperation in this field.Pakistan has set up a "Special Action Unit" for foreigners’ security and established a paramilitary force dedicated to the construction of the Corridor and the security of the relevant personnel.After the outbreak COVID-19,China shared its "Chinese experience" in fighting the pandemic with Pakistan,provided continuous supplies and helped Pakistan to produce vaccines locally.At the same time,Chinese investment has continued to flow into the corridor projects,not only taking a leading position in foreign investment in Pakistan,but also helping Pakistan to turn around its negative economic growth in 2022 and achieve economic recovery.The contribution of this paper is to summarize the details of the early harvest projects in the first phase and present them in the form of graphs,tables,and maps after sorting out relevant studies and news reports on the construction profile of various projects of the CPEC in recent years.It also analyzes the latest situation of economic and political risks faced by the construction of the corridor on the Pakistani side with relevant data and also updates the responses of both countries to these risks and the effectiveness of the countermeasures.At the same time,this paper focuses on the impact of the global health and governmental crisis of the COVID-19 on the construction of the corridor,and how the corridor has responded to this crisis in the past three years since the pandemic,and the measures and efforts to ensure the safety of personnel without disinvestment and shutdown,with timeliness.