Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit China in the first week of next month to take part in the official inauguration of the second phase of the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, according to media reports on Saturday.
A source in the prime minister’s office told Dawn that PM Sharif is scheduled to leave for China on June 4, but the date of the visit may be subject to some change. The CPEC, which links the port of Gwadar in Pakistan’s Balochistan province with China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, is opposed by India as it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Infrastructure and energy projects were part of the first phase of CPEC. Under CPEC-II, the two countries will focus on agriculture, the first trunk line of Pakistan Railways, business-to-business trade, and realignment of the Karakoram Highway (KKH), among others.
Chairing a meeting of Chinese business representatives on Friday, the prime minister said Pakistan wants to leverage China’s experience to boost its IT sector and boost exports.
“China plays an important role in Pakistan’s development. China has always helped Pakistan in difficult times. The entire nation, including me, is grateful to the Chinese leadership and people,” he said. He assured Chinese companies that the safety and protection of Chinese workers and citizens is the government’s top priority.
Thousands of Chinese personnel work in Pakistan on several projects under the auspices of the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and some have come under attack in recent years from militants who accuse them of exploiting its mineral resources.
“The government has taken all measures to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals in Pakistan,” he told the meeting, adding that a comprehensive plan in this regard has been prepared. Sharif said Pakistan is an agricultural country and wants to utilise China’s latest technology in this sector. He invited Chinese companies to invest in electric, hybrid vehicles and other sectors in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s state-run Associated Press reported that Minister of Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal and Li Chunlin, Vice Chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, co-chaired a Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting in which the Pakistani side appreciated the Chinese leadership’s vision for upgrading the second phase of CPEC, including new corridors.
“We are ready to work with the NDRC to finalize the scope and implementation plans of these corridors,” Iqbal said at the JCC meeting. He noted that last year, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng announced five new corridors proposed by President Xi Jinping, including the Growth Corridor, the Improving Living Corridor, the Innovation Corridor, the Green Corridor and the Opening Up and Regional Connectivity Corridor.
He said the second phase of CPEC has already begun but a lot of work remains to be done to ensure its success.
“We are developing four priority economic zones — Rashakai Special Economic Zone, Allama Iqbal Industrial City, Dhabej Special Economic Zone and Bostan Special Economic Zone. But there is a need to replicate China’s experience in this sector,” he said.
CPEC was launched 10 years ago and several projects related to energy and infrastructure had already been completed.
