Chinese Vice-Premier unveils ambitious plan for CPEC’s future

ISLAMABAD: Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, during his three-day visit to Islamabad, unveiled an ambitious future plan for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) while celebrating a decade of the project. He emphasised the need for third countries’ participation in the initiative to enhance regional connectivity and economic integration.
The CPEC, part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has seen substantial investment of over $60 billion from China into Pakistan, funding development and energy projects.
According to He Lifeng, CPEC has already resulted in $25.4 billion of direct investment in Pakistan, creating numerous job opportunities and contributing significantly to the country’s infrastructure with the addition of 500 km of highways, 8,000 MW of electricity, and almost 900 km of the National Transmission Network.
Looking ahead, the Chinese Vice-Premier called for building a “livelihood-enhancing corridor” with a focus on people’s welfare and deeper cooperation in various sectors such as industry, agriculture, health, education, and training. He also proposed an “innovation corridor” to enhance collaboration in high-tech, mobile, communications, e-commerce, AI, and smart cities. Additionally, a “green corridor” was suggested to promote environmentally-friendly development and align with Pakistan’s Green Pakistan Initiative aimed at modernizing the agriculture sector.
During the visit, Pakistani and Chinese officials signed six agreements, including protocols on exporting dried chiles from Pakistan to China and establishing a mechanism for expert exchanges under the CPEC framework. Several memoranda of understanding were also signed, including one to promote the strategic Main Line-1, a $6.8 billion CPEC project aimed at upgrading Pakistan’s railway lines.
In response to the visit and the celebration of the CPEC’s 10th anniversary, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed Pakistan’s commitment to the second phase of CPEC, which will focus on business-to-business cooperation, investments in agriculture, and information technology. He emphasized that this new model would allow Pakistan to export products in accordance with Chinese government standards.

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