C
China–Pakistan Economic
Corridor and Sustainable
Development in Pakistan
Reina Ichii, Rajesh Sharma and Ahsan Hanif
School of Global, Urban and Social Studies,
RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Definition
The United Nations framework for sustainable
development strongly emphasizes on the attain-
ment of development and prosperity for all coun-
tries. The UN sustainable development goals also
highlight the assurance and accessibility of stan-
dard living provision and growth opportunities for
all human residing in underdeveloped, develop-
ing, and developed countries. To achieve the
desired outcomes, the importance of foreign
investments and trade agreements is acknowl-
edged in the SDG 17. The notion of this goal
implies that global partnerships are developed
for collective pursuance of sustainable develop-
ment utilizing foreign investment and global trade
(United Nations, UN 2015).
The dawn of globalization has broken down
the chains of feudal economies. This led to an
increase in mutual trade and international devel-
opment. Cultural values, norms, and ideologies
are shared beyond countries and regions to create
a sense of a globally connected world with an aim
of global solidarity (Romano 2000). The upward
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Partnerships for the Goals, Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71067-9_96-1
trend of the FDIs and trade agreements are proven
to be a major catalyst for attaining the desired
goals of sustainable development, especially in
the regions of less developed and developing
countries. The platforms of the FDI and trade
agreements can be used as tools of globalization
where trading partners can work together by shar-
ing wealth, resources, and technologies (Bende-
Nabende 2017).
Introduction
Belt and Road Initiative is China’s investment in
developing countries to revitalize global partner-
ships for achieving the sustainable development
agenda. The BRI is associated with the revival of
ancient silk routes used by Chinese merchants for
top trade silk, spices, and other commodities
across the continents (Cai 2017). The BRI
includes two major components. One component
is the Silk Road Economic Belt, the land-based
route that will connect the countries of Central
Asia, West Asia, the Middle East, and Europe
through multimode connectivity. The other com-
ponent is the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road
which provides member states with economic
connectivity along the South China Sea, the
South Pacific Ocean, and the wider Indian Ocean
(Lu et al. 2018). It proposes six economic corri-
dors along the BRI, including the China–Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC) as one of these corri-
dors. It has been estimated that the BRI will
2 China–Pakistan Economic Corridor and Sustainable Development in Pakistan
impact more than two-thirds of the world’s popu-
lation from its massive investment of around US
$1 trillion in more than 65 countries. The BRI
projects are mainly financed by the Asian Infra-
structure Investment Bank and the Silk Road
Fund (Zhai 2018). The BRI projects are related
to energy, construction, industrial development,
infrastructure, and other related sectors to achieve
economic development and prosperity for all
stakeholders in participating countries. With
impacts on 30% of the world’s GDP, the BRI
shifts the global political and economic situation
by stimulating the regional economy in Asia,
Europe, and Africa (Huang 2016).
The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor is a
major enterprise under the BRI, which contributes
to strengthening a partnership between China and
Pakistan. The CPEC comprises of land networks
that connect Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang prov-
ince with the Gwadar seaport on the Balochistan
coast in Pakistan. The notion of the CPEC was
first conceived in May 2013 when a possibility of
linking Gwadar port with northwest China was
discussed by Chinese and Pakistani governments
(Faqir and Islam 2013). In the same year, the
Prime Minister of Pakistan signed Memorandums
of Understanding to pursue the idea of mutual
coordination and facilitation of Chinese invest-
ment in Pakistan. In 2015, a mutual agreement to
pursue the CPEC was unveiled (Bandyopadhyay
et al. 2017). The concept of the CPEC was offi-
cially created, with 51 signed MoUs and an initial
investment of US $46 billion allocated for the
implementation of the CPEC. In 2017, the initial
investment had substantially increased from the
preceding years to over US $60 billion. In Paki-
stan, the CPEC is a “game-changer,” whereas in
China, it is regarded as the “flagship project” of
the BRI (Esteban 2016).
The CPEC is politically and economically
important for both Pakistan and China. Since its
official inception in 2015, the CPEC has been a
flagship project of the BRI. Linking the Xinjiang
province in China and the Gwadar seaport in
Pakistan, the CPEC strengthens the partnership
and cooperation between the two governments
(Abid and Ashfaq 2015). The CPEC is designed
to be implemented according to the “1+4 formula”
with the development of the CPEC at the center.
This investment will be carried out in four poten-
tial areas, such as Gwadar port, energy, industry,
and infrastructure (Lu 2014). Occurring in multi-
ple layers of strategic sectors (Ali et al. 2016), the
total investment is estimated to be over the US
$60 million as of 2017 (Ali 2020). The CPEC
projects include 17 energy projects, 4 infrastruc-
ture projects, 8 Gwadar-based projects, 2 other
projects, for rail mass transit projects, 4 new pro-
vincial projects, 9 economic zones projects, 4
social sector project, and 6 western route projects
(CPEC official site 2020). This investment will
assist Pakistan to cope with a lack of foreign direct
investment, employment opportunities, and the
domestic generation of energy for achieving sus-
tainable development. The CPEC is also benefi-
cial for China, as it enables access to the Arabian
Sea as an alternative route for global trade. This
will increase China’s political and economic influ-
ence in the South-Asia region. The CPEC contrib-
utes to economic prosperity and regional
connectivity in both countries. Particularly, both
countries involve geopolitical issues in the region.
The CPEC will enable these countries to enhance
their partnerships to achieve sustainable
development.
This entry utilizes economic corridor as a con-
cept to examine how sustainable development in
Pakistan can be achieved by the CPEC. As the EC
is an inclusive and comprehensive concept com-
pared to trade corridors and other types of foreign
investments, this helps to understand several key
features relevant to sustainable development.
These features include multisectoral development
and infrastructure connectivity; economic devel-
opment and resource availability; consensus
development; regional connectivity; and linkages
to global supply chains. With a focus on these
features of the EC, this entry analyzes the CPEC
as a case of China’s foreign investment in Paki-
stan. The analysis also examines the impacts of
the CPEC on the progress of sustainable develop-
ment in Pakistan.
China–Pakistan Economic Corridor and Sustainable Development in Pakistan
Economic Corridors
Ancient history tells the story of how routes,
roads, and infrastructure led to the development
of the modern world. The importance of these
roads and corridors is recognized as an element
for the socioeconomic uplift of human civilization
(Hall et al. 2011). The concept of such road con-
nectivity for trade and commerce is often referred
to as trade corridors. This includes road, sea, air,
or multimodal transport systems used for the
movement of goods, services, information, and
people along geographical lines either nationally
or internationally mainly for economic purposes.
The major components of TCs are commercial,
physical, and technical infrastructure along with
features such as multimarket accessibility, busi-
ness expertise, plus well developed social, politi-
cal, and business linkages (Cuttino and Protasio
2013).
Following the concept of the TC, the economic
corridor emerges as a new concept of connectivity
and economic development. It was coined during
a meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion in
1998 to foster economic activity in member
regions. Several initiatives were taken across the
years to increase the trade and coordination
among the member states to achieve mutually
beneficial development. The guiding ideology
behind this investment was to develop the
North-South Economic Corridor that would stim-
ulate cumulative integrated economic develop-
ment for mutual benefits of all stakeholders (Fau
et al. 2014). The EC signified this potential invest-
ment calls for a comprehensive economic devel-
opment package in multiple sectors to amplify the
effects on the economy and all stakeholders.
Different from the TC, the EC emphasizes the
connection of economic hubs along geographical
lines for commerce with investment in physical
infrastructure, energy, technology, and other sec-
tors to encourage economic cooperation and
development. The key features of the EC include
(i) ensuring constant connectivity via road, rail,
and air; (ii) access to the global market via global
supply chains to ensure connectivity and mutual
growth for all stakeholders; (iii) maintaining the
availability of safe spaces for business activity
3
through the means of mutual consent for develop-
ment by potential stakeholders; and (iv) economic
transformation and inclusive growth aggressive
economic development over a while (Plummer et
al. 2016; Perdiguero 2016; Wolf 2016). An the EC
also considers environmental implications
(Brunner 2013). This must prevail to achieve the
desired outcomes of such development.
All ECs are not the same. The ECs do not
necessarily include all of the features (Brunner
2013). Each EC differs based on characteristics,
opportunities, and comparative advantages
(Masviriyakul 2004; Perdiguero 2016). For this
reason, the definition of the ECs is not universally
agreed among scholars and policymakers.
Characteristics of the China–Pakistan
Economic Corridor
Connecting Kashgar to Gwadar, the CPEC pro-
vides an ideal platform for the establishment of an
EC. It gives access to a deep-sea port, natural
resources, land for economic zones, physical
infrastructure, and investment opportunities for
generating economic activity along the lines
(Khan 2015). The other key prospects of the
CPEC include rapid economic development, con-
nection to global supply chains, multimodal con-
nectivity, and multisectoral development in
several potential sectors of Pakistan that further
have multiplier impacts on economy and stake-
holders (Farooq and Khawaja 2019).
Despite the tremendous potential opportuni-
ties, the CPEC projects face potential risks. Cor-
ruption, security threats, poor governance, and
transparency issues create hurdles, and uncer-
tainty in the attainment of its true potential and
goal of sustainable development (Hussain 2018).
These issues lie with lack of sociopolitical con-
sensus, which will increase inclusiveness among
all stakeholders, eliminating security concerns
and provision of a secure and conducive environ-
ment for trade and development (Sajjad et al.
2019). This will be achieved with proper planning
and execution by both partner countries. Mitigat-
ing these potential risks enables the countries to
achieve sustainable development and the desired
4 China–Pakistan Economic Corridor and Sustainable Development in Pakistan
outcomes defined as key characteristics of the ECs
(Brunner 2013; Perdiguero 2016).
The following section analyzes the CPEC
based on the key features of the ECs. These key
features include:
1. Multisectoral development and infrastructure
connectivity
2. Economic development and resource
availability
3. Consensus development and inclusiveness
4. Regional connectivity and linkages to global
supply chains
• Multisectoral Development and Infrastruc-
ture Connectivity
Multisectoral development and infrastruc-
ture connectivity are characterized as a feature
of the EC to attain sustainable development
(Anees 2019). The CPEC projects are planned
and implemented under the arrangement of 1
+4 investment package in Pakistan (CPEC offi-
cial site 2020). The overall investment is cen-
tered around the CPEC projects and corridors
for connecting Gwadar with Kashgar, while at
the same time it prioritizes four potential
investments, i.e., development of Gwadar as a
model seaport city, potential energy sectors,
transport infrastructure, and industrial devel-
opment. The investment through the CPEC
provides a comprehensive package for the
overall socioeconomic upliftment of Pakistan
(Malik 2018).
The CPEC also advances multisectoral
development and infrastructure connectivity.
The Long-Term Plan for CPEC 2017–2030
provides comprehensive information on the
CPEC structure and potential investment
objectives over three phases: the first phase to
be completed by the end of 2020, the second
phase in between 2021 and 2025, and the third
phase in between 2026 and 2030 (CPEC offi-
cial site 2020). The CPEC projects address
major bottlenecks for socioeconomic develop-
ment of Pakistan, including the development of
a new airport, a smart port city master plan, and
express highway for Gwadar. Furthermore, the
projects include wind farms, coal, and
hydropower plants across the county for
addressing energy security issues, Karakoram
highway Phase-II, plus rail and road networks
for connecting Gwadar and Kashgar (CPEC
official site 2020). These projects help to estab-
lish free economic zones and to invest in key
industries in Pakistan, which enable multi-
sectoral development and infrastructure con-
nectivity to be further strengthened.
Also, multisectoral development is
addressed with transport connectivity through
the CPEC. Connecting China and Pakistan on
the regional nodes of Kashgar and Gwadar, the
CPEC projects have a potential to provide
uninterrupted connectivity for goods, services,
information, and people via road, train, air, and
other transports modes. The CPEC’s route is
divided into three sub-routes to ensure
uninterrupted connectivity within the region.
This includes the Eastern alignment between
central Punjab and Sindh, the Central align-
ment connected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with
Punjab and Sindh, and Western alignment
between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochi-
stan. These three sub-routes intersect at the
destination of Gwadar port. Land connectivity
across Pakistan via rail and road offers invest-
ment opportunities in energy, infrastructure,
agriculture, and cross-border business oppor-
tunities for all stakeholders in Pakistan
(Hussain 2017).
• Economic Development and Resource
Availability
Another feature of the EC is the attainment
of economic development and the availability
of potential resources. To achieve the desired
outcomes of the CPEC, a strong platform is
needed to achieve rapid economic develop-
ment in a comparatively shorter period while
utilizing the potential resources. The rationale
of the CPEC is based on the agenda of multi-
sectoral investment that will trigger economic
development by aligning potential resources
for industrialization, integrating regional con-
nectivity, and linking to global supply chains
for trade purposes.
Pakistan is affluent in natural resources.
Surrounded by mountains, vast land sand
China–Pakistan Economic Corridor and Sustainable Development in Pakistan
coastlines along the Arabian Sea, the country
has untapped natural resources, such as min-
erals and natural gas. These natural resources
are ideal for developing the CPEC as an EC,
especially for the establishment of infrastruc-
ture and free economic zones (Javaid 2016).
The availability of untapped natural resources
along with potential human resource can be a
foundation for prosperous investment poten-
tials in the country. Aligned with the availabil-
ity of the enrich natural resources, the CPEC
projects are carried out as the multisectoral
investments (CPEC official site 2020).
A special emphasis of the CPEC is on
capacity building of human resources of Paki-
stan. A key issue of the labor market is a
shortage of educated and skilled labor. The
projects of CPEC offer human resource devel-
opment opportunities to the country. Pakistani
people working in medicine, education, public
policy, and the other professions are given
these opportunities. Also, the CPEC provides
technical training and vocational education for
students (Kanwal et al. 2019). These capacity-
building opportunities contribute to the
improvement of the quality of human
resources.
The geopolitical position of Pakistan also
adds an attractive advantage to the package.
The Gwadar seaport provides access to global
supply chains and also opens up global trade
opportunities, which increases the chances of
rapid economic development. Access to the
potential markets of Middle East, Central
Asia, and African countries creates a compar-
ative advantage to enhance global trade
(Ashraf et al. 2017). The CPEC projects have
a promising potential for sustainable economic
development in the world and also provide
significant potentials to utilize untapped natu-
ral and human resources.
• Consensus Development and Inclusiveness
Featured in the EC, the consensus among
the stakeholders is required for the CPEC. As
an EC, the success of the CPEC depends on the
formation of the consensus among agents
regarding political, social, institutional, and
economic challenges. Harmony between
5
economic agents, potential stakeholders, and
local people of each region is imperative to
provide a business-friendly environment.
Also, this ensures the timely implementation
of the CPEC projects. The process of consen-
sus formation can be hindered with several
challenges including the issues of transpar-
ency, biased government policies, incorrect
project beneficiaries, fear and mistrust among
local people, communication gaps and ethnic
issues (Hussain 2017). These challenges are
more apparent, particularly in the least devel-
oped provinces, such as Balochistan and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Bhatti et al. 2020;
Shapiee and Idrees 2017).
In Pakistan, ethnic issues play a vital role to
encourage political and community engage-
ment. In the finalization of the CPEC routes,
a major issue was raised as a political furor
because the Pakistani government gave a pri-
ority to Punjab, the most populated province of
Pakistan. Political leaders from the other prov-
inces criticized the pro-Punjab policies and
even termed the CPEC as the “China-Punjab
Economic Corridor” (Shafique and Kanwal
2018). Political uncertainty was addressed by
the Pakistani government when a political con-
sensus was made during the All-Parties-Con-
ference by proposing three sub-routes
connecting all provinces across Pakistan
(Khetran 2016). This political consensus was
highlighted as a major milestone in the pro-
gress of the CPEC to ensure that political har-
mony is vital. Nevertheless, similar milestones
still need to be achieved to realize the consid-
erable potentials through the CPEC.
The national government has strongly
emphasized on creating a sociopolitical con-
sensus on the CPEC projects while keeping in
view its economic importance for both China
and Pakistan. The government ensures the
inclusiveness of all stakeholders while
addressing controversial issues, along with
concerns of political consensus, law, and
order. These efforts aim to create an enabling
environment to bring all stakeholders together
and acknowledge the geopolitical and socio-
economic importance of the CPEC for the
6 China–Pakistan Economic Corridor and Sustainable Development in Pakistan
country. The national government is optimistic
over time. Further disagreements can be
addressed as the project proceeds through the
second and third phases in 2025 and 2030,
respectively (Abid and Ashfaq 2015).
Another key challenge of the CPEC is
inclusiveness. By supporting community link-
ages, the CPEC aims to provide sustainable
growth for all stakeholders through the equal
distribution of benefits. The governments of
Islamabad and Beijing have undertaken several
initiatives to increase community engagement.
For example, a joint working group for social
and economic development is included in the
institutional framework of the CPEC gover-
nance committee (CPEC official site 2020).
This joint working group focuses on people’s
socioeconomic development and their partici-
pation in the CPEC by providing scholarships,
training visits, technical and vocational educa-
tion, and cultural exchange programs. It is
imperative to counter the abovementioned
governance and non-governance issues,
which seriously impacts and shapes the percep-
tion of the CPEC among Pakistani people. As
an EC, the desirable goals of the CPEC can be
achieved ensuring the fair distribution of the
benefits from the CPEC and creating an envi-
ronment of mutual consent among all
stakeholders.
• Regional Connectivity and Linkages to
Global Supply Chains
An important feature of the EC is the provi-
sion of integrated economic development in
the region by linking economic hubs with
neighboring countries. Creating a partnership
with these countries is necessary to connect
with global markets and supply chains. An
EC cannot be achieved by China and Pakistan.
Regional integrity is vital for achieving the
desired results of the EC. This provides a com-
prehensive plan for integrating regions into the
socioeconomic fabric of Pakistan. As
implemented through the CPEC, the concept
of ECs mandates the development of the
regions involved, including Xinjiang, China’s
northwest region and Pakistan. Associated
development initiatives aim to integrate across
the whole regions rather than capital cities and
specified economic hubs, such as Gwadar,
Kashgar, industrial projects, and proposed
industrial zones. The CPEC framework pre-
scribes a comprehensive network of such ini-
tiatives across the region which matches the
core principles of the ECs (Butt and Butt
2015).
The geopolitics surrounding of the CPEC is
significant mainly due to its linkages and pos-
sible impacts on global supply chain and global
market. The major attraction on the CPEC for
China is not just the Gwadar seaport to access
to the Arabian Sea. The CPEC also increases
their access to the Middle East and South Asia
as conflicts over the South China Sea pose a
major bottleneck for China’s maritime trade.
Much of China’s imported energy resources
are brought in through the US-dominated
Malacca Strait, a key global shipping route
accounted for around 25% of world trade.
The CPEC provides an alternate, cost-efficient
route for China. Most importantly, it connects
the region with the other global trade routes by
directly linking them to the Middle East via the
Arabian Sea (Roy 2019).
In analyzing the CPEC’s potentials to
increase regional integrity and linkages to
global supply chains, a critical issue emerges
that calls for connecting this potential invest-
ment opportunity with neighboring countries
surrounding the CPEC. The CPEC includes
only two countries: China and Pakistan. The
ECs propose to connect neighboring countries
and create clusters to achieve economic devel-
opment. However, the Indian government has
openly opposed the CPEC at different forums
(Iqbal 2018). Moreover, the close association
of India with Iran through the Chabahar port
runs in direct competition with Gwadar port.
The political linkages between India and Iran
with Afghanistan have also created a serious
question on the involvement of all these coun-
tries in the CPEC. At the initial phase of the
CPEC, there was a discussion about regional
connectivity through Afghanistan and Iran
(Wolf 2020). For this reason, the CPEC must
integrate with neighboring countries to ensure
China–Pakistan Economic Corridor and Sustainable Development in Pakistan
a positive impact on development in the South
Asian region (Ali 2015a, b; Amir 2016). In
pursuing this objective, the Chinese and Paki-
stani governments have offered participation to
not only India, Iran, and Afghanistan but also
to many other countries. The CPEC is in its
initial phase and as it proceeds, it is hoped that
other countries will become involved to
achieve the desired potential of the EC (Wolf
2018).
Regional integrity and access to global trade
are imperative features of the EC and thus
become crucially important for achieving sus-
tainable development. The CPEC offers real
potential for regional development and access
to global trade. However, managing expecta-
tions among neighboring countries remains a
persistent challenge for the governments of
Islamabad and Beijing. Without engaging the
neighboring countries, the CPEC cannot
achieve its true potentials and progress the
SDGs.
Major Challenges
The comprehensive project of CPEC provides an
ideal basis to attain the desired objectives of SDGs
by countering and emphasizing on the
abovementioned features of the EC. Despite the
benefits and promises of the potential proximity of
the CPEC for both China and Pakistan, the CPEC
faces other crucial challenges that may impact its
overall performance and successful implementa-
tion. These challenges include good governance
and environmental concerns.
• Good Governance through the CPEC
Good governance plays an important role in
each step of the CPEC, from its planning to
successful implementation in the project year
of 2030. The CPEC has been criticized heavily
in terms of governance issues due to a lack of
transparency, weak provincial structures, bias
policy concerns, corruption, and security chal-
lenges (Hussain 2018).
7
The role of good governance in the imple-
mentation of the CPEC is imperative for
achieving the goal of sustainable development.
The term good governance refers to the man-
agement of government structures, as well as
the implementation of policies through a deci-
sion-making process for social and economic
welfare (Srivastava 2009). Good governance is
reflected in how the government shapes public
policies and exercises its authority for the pro-
vision of public goods and services. At a min-
imum stance, the aim of governance includes
efficiency, effectiveness, the rule of law, as
well as respect and equality in crafting and
implementing public policies (Khan 2016).
The CPEC has been highly criticized regarding
its governance, especially on the issue of trans-
parency. The MOUs of the CPEC are not
accessible to the general public which raises
questions regarding the integrity of the project.
This transparency needs to be urgently
addressed as it directly affects many correlated
issues (Arifeen 2017).
Other governance loopholes also compro-
mise the project, such as weak provincial struc-
tures, centralized decision-making, corruption,
biased policymaking, security, plus the law and
order situations of Pakistan and Balochistan in
particular (Abid and Ashfaq 2015). The threats
of violence and social unrest pose a significant
risk on the CPEC, particularly from groups like
Tehreek Taliban Pakistan, Daesh, Balochistan
Liberation Army, and Balochistan Liberation
Front. The armed forces have successfully
conducted several operations to try and elimi-
nate these movements. However, unrest still
exists and puts the security of the CPEC in
jeopardy (Hussain 2017). Fundamentalist
movements have also impacted China’s prov-
ince of Xinjiang. Beijing believes that the
Taliban are encouraging local Uyghur Muslims
to fight against the Chinese government and
asked the Islamabad government to act
urgently (Han 2010).
This complex security is prominent in the
province of Balochistan, where nationalist
8 China–Pakistan Economic Corridor and Sustainable Development in Pakistan

separatist movements such as the BLA and prioritize BRI projects that include environ-
BLF have killed Chinese people, attacked ment-friendly initiatives (Cuiyun and
CPEC installations and infrastructure, and Chazhong 2020).
even targeted the Chinese consulate in Kara- The CPEC projects will bring socioeco-
chi. The government of Pakistan has nomic prosperity but it needs to be planned to
established a Special Security Division and address the environmental concerns associated
Maritime Security Force to counter these secu- with the project. Coal-based projects such as
rity threats. Deployment of this security per- the Tharparkar coal plant for energy creation
sonnel has enhanced safety in the region. not only damage the environment but also dis-
However, it has also increased the associated places resident, which has significant impacts
security costs of CPEC projects which reduce on their livelihood (International Crises Group
efficiency (Hussain 2018). 2018). Potential environmental degradation
Other governance issues such as corruption caused by the CPEC projects must be mini-
and political instability also call for immediate mized. If the environment is irreparably dam-
attention. The Pakistani government must aged, the legacy of the CPEC will be
urgently rectify these governance matters in compromised on account for green develop-
the best interest of the CPEC. Otherwise, trans- ment. It is imperative for both Sino-Pak gov-
parency and security will remain major obsta- ernments to closely associate the several
cles in achieving the true potential of the EC planned energy, infrastructure, and other pro-
and thus may delay the realization of sustain- jects on the parameters of eco-sustainable
able development goals through the CPEC. development.
• Environmental Concerns
Safeguarding the environment is another
challenge for the CPEC in the context of sus-
Conclusion
tainable development and becoming an EC.
Road connectivity, free economic zones,
The CPEC offers great potential in terms of sec-
industrial hubs, and infrastructure develop-
toral investment, economic prosperity, and infra-
ments are imperative for achieving the desired
structure connectivity within the included regions.
economic outcomes; however, each has its
The concept of the CPEC as an EC can be further
associated environmental costs. For example,
strengthened by cooperative and inclusive devel-
the direct impacts of improved road connectiv-
opment between all stakeholders and neighbor
ity include increased air pollution, impacts on
countries. The CPEC projects remain in the initial
species due to intensive cutting of trees, level-
phase. The implementation of the CPEC projects
ling of mountains, biodiversity loss, deforesta-
could be suffered from foreseen issues including
tion, and massive changes in topography
regional integration, national security, community
(Durani and Khan 2018).
engagement, environmental concerns, and gover-
The BRI has had significant impacts on
nance issues. The Chinese and Pakistani govern-
local people and communities. The Chinese
ment must identify and address these issues on a
government is prioritizing the vision for the
project by project basis. Particularly, environmen-
BRI within the agenda of sustainable develop-
tal damage needs to be minimized in the pursuit of
ment, as outlined in the UN 2030 Vision of
economic development; otherwise, the SDGs will
Sustainability. In pursuance of this agenda, the
remain unfulfilled. An adequate response to aris-
Chinese government has announced its priori-
ing challenges by the governments will enable the
ties for greening the BRI via two key policies –
efficient and effective implementation of the
Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Green
CPEC, which enhances sustainable development
BRI and the Belt and Road Ecological and
and economic transformation in the region.
Environmental Cooperation Plan. These two
strategies provide guiding principles to
China–Pakistan Economic Corridor and Sustainable Development in Pakistan 9

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