BEIJING – The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has become one of theearliest, fastest-moving and most effective projects under the Belt andRoad initiative. Of the 43 projects confirmed at the beginning of thecorridor, 20 are under construction or have been completed.
“Another 157 projects in the corridor will be gradually completed in thenext 12 years,” Zhou Rong, a senior research fellow with the ChongyangInstitute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China toldGlobal Times on Tuesday.
As a major pilot project of the Belt and Road initiative, the corridor hasbeen lauded by the Pakistani government.
Driven by the corridor construction, Pakistan’s rate of economic growthrose to 5.97 percent last year from 3.5 percent in 2013, ranking top inAsia. As long as the corridor projects advance smoothly, economic growthcan rise up to 9 percent, he added.
He said the corridor construction has created nearly 60,000 direct jobs inPakistan. It is expected to create 700,000 jobs in the country by 2030. Ifrelated industries are counted, at least 3.5 million jobs will be created,benefiting millions of families.
Many Pakistani employees have been sent to China for further study byChinese-funded enterprises and will soon become the leading figures of thenew generation seeing Pakistani industrialization.
On the other hand, although the Pakistani government and the military havebeen doing their utmost to protect the security of the CPEC, there arereports discrediting it by West-driven English language media, he added.
Zhou Rong said there have been rumors, such as those saying that thecorridor will follow the old road of the British East India Company andlead to a new colonization of Pakistan; China has sent a large number ofprisoners to Pakistan to work on the construction in order to save laborcosts; China only focuses on Punjab province; China won’t offerpreferential trade policy to Pakistan; the industrial park has become aspecial economic zone exclusive to Chinese capitals. All these rumors havehad a negative impact.
China has responded to the rumors on several occasions. All Chineseengineers and technicians working in Pakistan have obtained the consent ofthe relevant departments of both governments.
Beijing has never sent a person with a criminal record to work in Pakistanand has called back all Chinese people who have violated discipline inPakistan. China did not send any soldier to Pakistan, nor build anymilitary base in the country.
The research fellow said that China respects Pakistan’s social and economicdevelopment and has never insisted on completely equivalent reciprocity. Itcontinues to provide Pakistan with preferential treatment in terms of trade.China has not stopped non-Chinese companies from entering theChina-Pakistan economic free zone and has no reason to do so. And Chinaprefers certain provinces in Pakistan because they have a good developmentrecord with a high degree of safety.
China and Pakistan should work together to curb the false reports on theCPEC through in-depth and multifaceted cooperation and build a good mediacorridor in between. Writers and intellectuals from both countries shouldalso join hands to explore positive stories in the corridor.“I strongly agree with the China-Pakistan Life Rescue Corridor that isbeing built. We can also build corridors on employment and industrial parksso as to increase cooperation between bilateral enterprises and interactionbetween Pakistani and Chinese people,” he added.He opined the rapid construction and development of the corridor is notpossible without the full protection and support of the Pakistanigovernment and army.