Last week, I was a member of a workshop organised by the Pakistan Navy. Among other objectives of this workshop, one of the objectives was to study what China and Pakistan have achieved together regarding CPEC, to assess where the work has been completed on time, and to identify the factors causing delays in those that are behind schedule. I strongly believe that CPEC will not be able to move forward at its own pace until the rail project, known as ML-1, is completed. During the same visit, Mr Zou, CEO of a Chinese company working in Gwadar, also came to meet me, and I met Mr Yang Yungdong, the Chinese Consul General in Karachi, at the Chinese Consulate. These meetings were not part of the workshop schedule. Rather, I met these two gentlemen because of my personal status. Both of them were very determined to complete their work and their goals at all costs and to remove every obstacle in the way of this project. Given this determination, I am confident that the full benefits of CPEC will soon reach both countries to their full potential.

China is not limited to Gwadar alone but is involved in various business and social welfare issues in every region of Pakistan to achieve the national development of Pakistan. China is strongly advancing cooperation with Pakistan in all such areas that benefit the people of both countries.

Regarding China, this welcome news is emerging at this time that China, together with the Punjab government, has prepared a plan for South Punjab, which is a more backward area in the province of Punjab. This plan focuses on spreading education and eradicating poverty. Under this initiative, China will help educate out-of-school children to reduce poverty and its disadvantages in the backward areas of South Punjab.

Small but effective projects will be launched to improve the livelihoods of the people of South Punjab. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is also on a visit to China these days, where decisions have been made to cooperate with the Chinese leadership in various sectors. China will assist Punjab Province in many sectors, including hydropower, water management, agriculture, e-transport, waste management, and environmental improvement. Similarly, the Beijing-Punjab Clean Air Working Group will be established.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is also very active during this visit in further strengthening cultural ties between the two brotherly countries. She has proposed declaring more cities in Pakistan and China as twin cities and provinces as twin provinces to achieve this goal.

Similarly, a high-level Chinese business delegation met President Asif Ali Zardari. The meeting was also attended by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, provincial ministers, and the Consul General of China. During the discussion, the Chinese delegation informed the President of Pakistan about China’s desire to invest in various sectors and said their country is interested in working on projects in agriculture, livestock, energy, transport, and manufacturing in Pakistan. President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, while encouraging Chinese projects in various sectors in Pakistan, emphasised the need to promote Pak-China economic and trade cooperation. He stated that contacts between the people of Pakistan and China, especially investors and business entities, must be increased. President Asif Ali Zardari noted that it was his vision to develop Gwadar Port as a regional trade and economic hub. Gwadar Port will not only improve regional connectivity but also promote regional trade and economic cooperation.

Currently, to further expand Pak-China economic relations and accelerate the pace of work on CPEC, a high-level delegation of 12 major Chinese companies visited various locations in the Special Economic Zone of Dhabeji, accompanied by the Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Sindh on Investment and Public-Private Partnership, Syed Qasim Naveed Qamar. According to an official statement issued by the Sindh government, this high-level Chinese economic group expressed interest in investing in livestock, agriculture, solar and wind energy, cargo, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, food and beverages, electric vehicles, and many other sectors. The Chinese delegation’s interest in a very important project will prove to be a source of economic benefits as well as great social impact. The Chinese delegation expressed interest in establishing a medical city in the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone at a cost of one billion dollars, which would prove to be a game-changer in terms of healthcare facilities for Pakistan, Sindh Province, and the region, as the current situation regarding healthcare facilities in the region is very poor. The Chinese, in collaboration with local businessmen, considered the possibility of setting up various factories to manufacture solar panels, solar inverters, and solar batteries, along with a factory to make fertilisers using coal instead of gas, and expressed very positive views in this regard. In any case, the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone is a priority project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and land has been allocated there for industrial, commercial, and residential facilities. For this reason, it is believed that the Dhabeji zone will prove to be the most important economic zone in the province of Sindh.

All these steps show that the benefits of Pak-China economic relations are being provided equally in every region of Pakistan, whether Gwadar, South Punjab, or Sindh. It is hoped that soon projects like ML-1 will also be completed, and their pace will be accelerated.

Muhammad Mehdi
The writer is the Chairman of Institute of International Relations and Media Research (IIRMR). He can be reached at lhrpakistan@yahoo.co.uk