China’s Grand Plan for Pakistan’s Infrastructure

China’s President Xi Jinping came to Pakistan bearing serious cash, pledging to invest

$46 billion in Pakistan’s fragile infrastructure. Much of that money will go toward the China-

Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It’s a mix of roads, rails and pipelines that will connect

Beijing’s infrastructure at Gwadar Port in Baluchistan, just off the southern tip of the Persian

Gulf, with Xinjiang province on China’s western frontier, some 3,000 kilometers away. That will

do much to enrich a relationship that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif describes as

“sweeter than honey.” It also gives China a direct route by land to the Indian Ocean basin, the

site of 70 percent of the world’s oil traffic. The plan would enable China’s naval vessels and

merchants to bypass the Malacca Strait, long a haven for pirates and militants who prey on

unsuspecting ships. The CPEC would allow the government and banks in the mainland to lend to

Chinese companies operating in Pakistan, facilitating construction along the route. Some of the

other line items in the deal aim to fix Pakistan’s failing energy infrastructure: the CPEC calls for

$15.5 billion in investments ranging from coal to solar and hydroelectric power, scheduled to

become part of Pakistan’s national electricity mix in 2017. That will follow a fiber optic cable

linking Xinjiang and Rawalpindi, which will come at the cost of $44 million.

China has plenty of incentive to unleash a spigot of investment, despite fears that

Pakistani radicals are stoking violence in Xinjiang among the 10 million Uyghur Muslims that

live there. Beijing has already pushed heavily for other projects in the region, including the 1,240

km Karachi-Lahore motorway, a six-lane, high speed corridor expected to be completed in the

fall of 2017, and orchestrating upgrades to public transportation, including metro and bus

service, in six cities, including Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi. Modernizing the Karakoram
highway, which runs 1,300 km from Kashgar, the ancient Silk Road crossing in Xinjiang, all the

way into the heart of the Punjab, Pakistan’s biggest province, will also prove critical.

All of that leads to Gwadar, which China hopes to transform into a free-trade zone on the order

of a Singapore or a Hong Kong, another major focus for Chinese investors. That carries

geopolitical weight. China’s aid to Pakistan now exceeds American spending, which has totaled

$31 billion since 2002. Washington’s investments have slowed since counterterrorism funding

authorized by Congress during the Afghan surge has dried up.

It’s not as though China isn’t interested in military issues. President Xi also used the

occasion to finalize a deal to send eight submarines to Pakistan, in a long-promised deal. They’re

also working to get on shared ideological ground: the Research and Development International

(RANDI) think tank, will be chaired by Pakistani and Chinese leaders. That unfortunate acronym

became the butt of plenty of Twitter jokes. But the group could wield serious influence,

especially in thinking up plans to help Pakistan fight terror and potentially determining the role

of mediators in talks with the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.

China’s grand plan for Pakistan’s infrastructure has taken shape over the course of

President Xi’s visit. It will have a major impact on what the future holds for Islamabad, and the

entire Indian Ocean basin.

Conclusion

China-Pakistan relations were started in 1950s. Pakistan is the first Muslim state who

recognized People’s Republic of China. Since the establishment of diplomatic relationship both

states are enjoying all weather tested friendship. Pakistan and China are cooperated with each

other in all joys and sorrows. China helped Pakistan in different wars with India like 1965, 1971

and 1999 war. Islamabad also supported Beijing in United Nations and she also supported one

China policy. China also helped Pakistan to become nuclear power. China provides

technological assistance and technical support to Pakistan nuclear program. China moreover

provided missile technology to strengthen Pakistan defense and security. Pakistan and China

jointly launched different type of tactical weapon manufacturing industries in Pakistan.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and People’s Republic of China entered in a new era of

brotherhood relationship in the initial age of the 21st century as this century is marked for

regional integration. China and Pakistan signed Free Trade Agreement and Islamabad became

first South Asian State that signed Free Trade Agreement with Beijing. Pakistan and China also

jointly launched several other projects regarding defense and security. Pakistan also became

the first country who jointly operates military drill with People’s Liberation Army. Furthermore

both countries are cooperating in defense, strategic, economic, social, trade, energy, and health

fields since the beginning. The CPEC and JF-17 Thunder is one of the most prominent

symbols of friendship. Owing to the strategic and reliable relationship of Islamabad and

Beijing the US-India partnership grew up to counter Pak- China friendship. India and USA

signed nuclear deal with India although she is not member of any non-nuclear organization.