China launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) a decade ago to finance infrastructure around the world, particularly in developing countries, with estimates of $1 trillion or more invested across 152 countries. China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) became flagship project of BRI; aimed at developing infrastructure across whole swath of the country. But it is not the infrastructure alone that CPEC has focused on, there have been many spinoffs that the project has generated which have been the actual profit for Pakistan.
Besides infrastructure development, the socio-economic growth prong of the CPEC is of pivotal nature which has not only helped in betterment of Pakistani public but has also been a driving force to bring the people from both countries closer. For instance, the collaboration in the field of education especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is noteworthy. There have been several Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) between the Pakistani educational institutions and their Chinese counterparts which have enabled the students more from Pakistani side to seek advanced and modern education through Chinese cooperation. Cultural cooperation and people-to-people connections are surmounting the barriers if any, while media collaboration is increasing at a fast pace which will be more obvious in days to come.
Islamabad police deny arrests as PTI workers protest against alleged rigging The establishment of factories and industries for instance, in the Rashakai Economic Zone and the creation of special economic zones at Rashakai, Dhabeji, Allama Iqbal Industrial City in Faisalabad and Bostan at Pishin, to attract domestic and international investors is hallmark of CPEC spinoffs. If guided through well charted policies, this arrangement will certainly ensure investor confidence in Pakistani markets. The local employment and businesses that such measures are likely to give birth are expected to be astounding.
The first decade of BRI was focused on the construction of bridges, ports, highways and energy sources, primarily fossil fuel driven, which ensured Chinese financing of almost 21,000 projects across 165 countries with financial outlay around $80bn a year. It is estimated that 80 percent of China’s overseas lending is currently supporting countries in financial distress. But now China has come up with another unique initiative to further the goodwill that BRI inherently carries.
3 suspects held injured during police encounter in Rawalpindi At the 2021 UNGA meet, China announced halting construction of new coal plants abroad and instead would step up investment in renewable energy with a sum of $10bn. It was reiterated by President Xi Jinping at the latest BRI summit in October 2023. There is little doubt that the BRI host countries, desperately need renewable energy investment i.e. six or seven fold increase in annual clean energy investment say from $260 billion in year 2022 to $1.9trillion by the early 2030s to meet global climate targets. Moreso, for Pakistan because of its weak economic health, climate hazards and power shortages. Whereas Pakistan necessitates shifting to alternate energy sources its less fiscal space hinders investment for climate spending thus constricting support for policies that can facilitate climate investing. The good news is that CPEC has been termed as the pilot project in Green BRI. It is no misnomer that since year 2012, Pakistan has received single largest foreign development financing from China, outspending the US by 1.6 times in year 2013, 7.7 times in year 2016 and 22.4 times in year 2021. Pakistan can benefit from the Green CPEC initiative making use of Chinese investment.
EuroVillage: A celebration of EU-Pakistan friendship - stronger together, sustain forever It is a fact that the CPEC projects have not only enthused economic growth in the country but have also improved the lives and the livelihood of Pakistani citizens. Also, enhancing regional connectivity is one great aspect of the overall initiative. A climate-driven CPEC may become the “biggest green opportunity” of the next decade of BRI. China seems to be empathetic to the developing countries who are vying for collaborative climate and development partners. Pakistan is one fortunate country to have received this attention from China in the form of CPEC.
However, this is not that simple as lot has to be done on our part to understand and execute this concept. The environment friendly energy sources are expensive and it will not be easy for our industry to convert without incentives offered after overhauled financial and regulatory mechanisms. The grid system for electricity distribution in the country is age old and requires to be made compatible with the environment friendly power plants. There is also dearth of expertise, technical proficiency and policy formulation on the subject. The cities are over populated, unclean and without proper garbage disposal mechanism. Recycling culture is also in its infancy in Pakistan. Due to owing to price hike in fuel significant rise in tree cutting and use of wood for fuel has been witnessed recently. All in all, a whole of government approach is but compulsory to develop a complete eco system around the concept so that tangible benefits are reaped.
Murree snowfall forecast: all departments put on high alert There is no denying the fact that CPEC has brought good tidings for Pakistan. It is not only related to infrastructural development but also the socio-economic development through human resource development and employment opportunities. Green BRI or CPEC is yet another important milestone that Pakistan seriously needs. The benefits springing out of CPEC, we need to make it a profiting bond between Pakistan and China. It is up to us how much dividends can we extract to our advantage.
Reema Shaukat
The writer works as Communica-tion Strategist at the Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad and can be reached at reema.asim81
@gmail.com
CPEC - A Profiting Bond
35
1
18.02.2024
China launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) a decade ago to finance infrastructure around the world, particularly in developing countries, with estimates of $1 trillion or more invested across 152 countries. China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) became flagship project of BRI; aimed at developing infrastructure across whole swath of the country. But it is not the infrastructure alone that CPEC has focused on, there have been many spinoffs that the project has generated which have been the actual profit for Pakistan.
Besides infrastructure development, the socio-economic growth prong of the CPEC is of pivotal nature which has not only helped in betterment of Pakistani public but has also been a driving force to bring the people from both countries closer. For instance, the collaboration in the field of education especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is noteworthy. There have been several Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) between the Pakistani educational institutions and their Chinese counterparts which have enabled the students more from Pakistani side to seek advanced and modern education through Chinese cooperation. Cultural cooperation and people-to-people connections are surmounting the barriers if any, while media collaboration is increasing at a fast pace which will be more obvious in days to come.
Islamabad police deny arrests as PTI workers protest against alleged rigging The establishment of factories and industries for instance, in the Rashakai Economic........
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