With Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on a three-day visit to Pakistan, celebrations of the ten-year anniversary of CPEC are in full swing. All eyes are being directed towards the project which not only helped develop Pakistan but solidified its ties with its trusted neighbor. Not only did China invest over $25 billion into the multi-pronged project, but it has been showing its commitment towards uplifting the country economically through providing additional help via debt restructuring, emergency aid and diplomatic support. The hope is that this three-day visit will not only strengthen the initiative taken back in the day, but will resolve certain obstacles that have stood in the way.
According to recent reports, PM Shehbaz Sharif held a conference with the Vice Premier which resulted in fresh trade agreements according to which more funding will be channeled towards the agriculture and IT sector of Pakistan. More than this however, China has promised to lend its support towards the export industry and will endorse quality check marks in accordance with their own standards and requirements so that our products can be shipped globally. While discussing such opportunities, both sides also reaffirmed their commitment towards one another and stated that there would be no tolerance for any obstacle in the way of their friendship.
Despite fostering such a healthy alliance with China, Pakistan has been facing some issues that have negatively impacted the CPEC project. Certain development schemes have suffered through immense delays which have only increased the overall cost. On top of this, most Chinese contractors and power companies have not been paid due to declining dollar reserves. This has been a major hurdle in the way of progress, and still it seems as though we have little in our reserves to pay back loans. In fact, China recently rolled over debt worth $2 billion.
Beyond this, there are concerns of security as well. In the past, there have been multiple instances where Chinese officials were attacked in the line of duty, or while they were on visits. The situation became so precarious that Beijing issued a statement expressing concerns about the violence, after which Pakistan proactively employed security for all foreign dignitaries. Evidently so, there are some key problems that have not been solved yet, and require thorough discussion. It was vital for both delegations to sit down and devise a plan moving forward, going beyond trade agreements towards ensuring that execution of previous projects is completed fully.