China, Pakistan Discuss Accelerating CPEC Projects and Infrastructure

May 15, 2024

China and Pakistan recently talked about their long-term plans for growth. These plans include changing the route of the Karakoram Highway and making other important CPEC projects better. In these talks, Liu Jianchao of the Communist Party of China met with Mohammad Ishaq Dar, who is the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The objective of the Talks

The main goal of these talks was to speed up the progress of CPEC projects, which are very important for making the two countries’ economies stronger. Some of the most important projects that were talked about were improving the train line between Karachi and Peshawar and making changes to Gwadar Port, which is run by a Chinese company.

Strategic Projects Under Discussion

Karakoram Highway Realignment: The talk led to the strategic change of the Karakoram Highway, which connects China’s Xinjiang to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port. This is thought to be very important for the CPEC to work.
Upgrading the ML-I Railway Project: A big part of CPEC is the USD 8 billion ML-I railway line, which connects Karachi to Peshawar and is very important for trade and movement within Pakistan.
Developing Gwadar Port: Another big goal was to improve the facilities at Gwadar Port, which is important for marine trade and a key part of CPEC.

Geo-Political Implications

India’s resistance to the CPEC projects because they would go through Kashmir, which is occupied by Pakistan, was seen as a geopolitical problem. Still, both China and Pakistan said again how important the CPEC was and promised to get past these problems through strategic planning and teamwork.

More About Karakoram Highway

The Karakoram Highway is known for its very high elevation and difficult scenery, so it is often called the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”
With a height of 4,693 meters Khunjerab Pass, is the world’s highest paved international road.
The highway goes through the Karakoram mountain range and is a very important link between China and Pakistan. It is about 1,300 kilometers long.
About 15,000 workers from China and Pakistan worked on the project for 20 years, which ended in 1979.
It is an important part of trade, especially with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which makes trade between the two countries stronger.
Landslides and other natural tragedies can happen on the highway, which makes it harder to maintain and run.
It goes by important historical places from the Silk Road, which adds to its cultural value and makes it an important historical route.

More About China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which includes projects from Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan to Xinjiang in China, was first worth $46 billion but is now worth more than $62 billion. Improvements are being made to the Karakoram Highway, which is the fastest straight route between China and Pakistan. CPEC is more than just building roads and bridges. It also includes energy projects that aim to add 17,000 MW to Pakistan’s power. Even though CPEC has advantages, it is criticized for putting Pakistan in debt and causing problems with the environment. The corridor also avoids key maritime choke points, which makes China’s trade safer.

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