The China Pakistan Economic Corridor: a cooperation through Karakorum Highway

Abstract

With a long history of friendship, China and Pakistan are forging a closer relation through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). China is investing US$46 billion to help Pakistan to improve its economic situation. This project is the flagship of the Chinese initiative One Belt and One Road (OBOR) and it will connect the city of Gwadar, on the Arabian Sea, to the city of Kashgar in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. This trade route will facilitate the trade between Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The project is meant to help both countries to deal with their problems and interests. This dissertation analyses the implications that the CPEC will have on both Pakistan and China in the fields of economy, infrastructure, energy, security and geopolitics. Will the CPEC be able to improve the future of Pakistan, solve its energy crisis and boost its economy? What are China’s interests in the region and what is it gaining from such huge investments? What will China, Pakistan and the neighbouring countries gain from the CPEC at the end of the project? In order to answer these questions, this study first presents the “all-weather friendship” between China and Pakistan and secondly compares the present economic situation of Pakistan and China with their respective future projections after the end of the project in 2030.