Lahore - “One Belt, One Road is a Paradigm of Regional co-existence,” said president of Pak-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said that the project firmly focuses on the continent development goals. He added that this model of shared destiny and cooperation is having a unique three dimensional character engulfing true spirit of reciprocity, kinship and inclusiveness. Faisal Afridi declared that China will construct a new world economy that would serve generations.
While highlighting the significance of “One Road, One Belt”, he said that the mega project aimed at linking China, Central Asia, Russia, and Europe, with the Persian Gulf, South East Asia and the Indian Ocean with Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan as starting points. The land corridor between China-Mongolia-Russia will be built with Chinese province Heilongjiang as starting point. Starting from Kolkata, the China-India-Bangladesh-Myanmar Corridor will be built. The China-Central Asia-West Asia Corridor will be built with Xinjiang as a starting point. An exclusive China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be built to connect Gwadar with Xinjiang.
He further explicated that China has chosen to begin the implementation of this big bang template with Pakistan, as both nations are the iron friends. He described (CPEC) as a significant opening move on the ‘Belt and Road initiative’ chessboard. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is, in fact, a trunk passageway connecting the Silk Road Economic Belt in the north with the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road in the south, he added.
Faisal Afridi further elaborated that; branches from this trunk are also expected to connect Afghanistan, India and Iran with the Chinese ‘Belt and Road’ system.
He said that the CPEC was not merely an ordinary economic corridor or a transit trade route, but it would be a fate changer project through which the Pakistani nation would be able to generate around 10,000 megawatts of power, a number of hydropower dams, a high-speed railway facility, educational institutes and medical facilities. The CPEC would also be the harbinger of enormous job opportunities for Pakistanis. Still other components include integrating industrial chains, clusters and parks so regional countries can build on their comparative advantage and entire industrial sectors can develop in concert, he added.
He explicated that according to the plan ‘One Belt-One Road’ would be a series of initiatives under which several corridors will be built to boost regional economies to the tune of US$2.5 trillion benefiting over 4.4 billion population across 65 countries.
The initiative is not simply building roads, rails, and ports but introduces a comprehensive network of infrastructure development, he said and added that Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), The BRICS New Development Bank, the Silk Road Fund, as well as China-ASEAN Interbank Association, and SCO Interbank Association will also finance projects built under this initiative.
Faisal Afridi asserted that ‘One belt, one road’ initiative is an enduring methodical project that cannot be done overnight, thus states should undergo step-by-step advancement and by endorsing upon a pragmatic approach they should invoke various cooperation initiatives and mechanisms under the auspices of ‘one road, one belt’ initiative to make it more effective and mutually reinforcing.