Xiplomacy: How an economic corridor has changed lives in Pakistan
by Xinhua writers Liu Tian, Jiang ChaoBEIJING/ISLAMABAD,
Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- When the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was
launched in 2013, Moaaz Awan, a student at the time, hardly anticipated
the tremendous change to come.In 2013, the CPEC, under the
broader Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), was no more than a line segment
on the map from China's Kashgar in the north linking Pakistan's Gwadar
Port in the south.In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a
state visit to its "iron-clad" neighbor. The two sides signed more than
50 cooperation deals, agreeing to focus CPEC development on four key
areas: the Gwadar Port, transport infrastructure, energy and industrial
cooperation. Since then, the design on paper has rapidly become a
reality and unleashed tremendous development dividends for ordinary
Pakistanis like Moaaz.NO MORE POWER SHORTAGE"The CPEC has undeniably brought profound changes in my life," said
Moaaz. The 30-year-old is no stranger to China. He studied in China for
several years and speaks fluent Chinese language. His father, Zamir
Ahmed Awan, is a sinologist who once studied in China after China has
started reform and opening-up and served as a diplomat in Beijing.Moaaz is now a senior manager at China Three Gorges South Asia
Investment Ltd., the operator of northern Pakistan's Karot hydropower
facility, which celebrated its first anniversary of safe operation at
the end of June 2023.The Karot hydropower station has
generated 3.64 billion kilowatt-hours since its full operation, saving
about 1.59 million tons of standard coal and reducing about 3.98 million
tons of carbon dioxide, meeting the electricity demand of more than 5
million people.When the CPEC was launched a decade ago,
Pakistan suffered severe power shortages. People had to live with over
12 hours of load-shedding a day. With CPEC energy projects, such as the
Karot plant, Pakistan can address its energy crisis and achieve greater
energy security, reducing dependency on power imports and ensuring a
stable power supply for industries and households, said Moaaz.Environmental protection was prioritized during the construction of the
Karot Project, said Moaaz. A comprehensive management plan was developed
to protect fish habitats, conduct awareness drives, carry out
plantation drives and provide opportunities to surrounding communities.FROM UNSKILLED TO SKILLFUL FARMERSDuring the past 10 years, the uninterrupted power supply provided by
the Karot hydropower plant during the height of summer and the
convenience brought by other CPEC projects, such as the Lahore Orange
Line metro train, the seamless Havelian to Thakot expressway under the
Karakoram Highway Phase Two project, have driven more Pakistanis to be a
part of various CPEC projects.Muhammad Ammar Asghar is one of
them. Asghar, a Ph.D. graduate from China's Northwest A&F
University, is an agronomist working on a red chili contract farming
project. Large-scale agricultural cooperation between China and Pakistan
is a main focus in the second phase of the CPEC, which is currently
underway after the success of the first phase focusing on infrastructure
and power projects.Speaking to Xinhua, Asghar said that most
farmers hired by landowners in the project are unskilled. To help
landowners get a high yield, Chinese agronomists and agriculture
technicians helped the farmers with the timing and use of fertilizers,
pesticides and water.Rao Shahab, one of the landowners who
cultivated chili, said that this year he experimented by planting chili
on seven acres of land and was so impressed by the yield that he plans
to cultivate 50 acres next year.ECONOMIC CORRIDOR, DEVELOPMENT PATH"Seek knowledge even if you have to go as far as China" is a famous
Muslim adage. Zamir, then counselor of the Pakistani mission in Beijing
for higher education and technology, is glad to see many aspiring young
Pakistanis seeking advanced technologies and expertise in China. "The
CPEC has not only strengthened economic ties but also fostered
people-to-people connections, cultural exchange and understanding
between the two countries," he said.Zamir visited China's
Guangzhou this June, and the changes in China over the decades have been
astonishing. Pakistan has never had such scale of industrialization
since its founding, said Zamir.He said that by embracing the
opportunities presented by the CPEC and learning from China's
development, Pakistan could build a more prosperous and sustainable
future for its people and contribute to regional and global development.In the past decade, the CPEC has made tremendous progress, attracting
25.4 billion U.S. dollars of direct investment, creating 236,000 jobs,
generating 8,000 megawatts of electric power, building 510 km of
highways and adding 886 km to the core national transmission network for
Pakistan. The Gwadar Port became fully functional and is on its way to
becoming a regional hub of connectivity benefiting Pakistan, Afghanistan
and Central Asia.For Moaaz, the success of the CPEC lies in
how the Pakistani government has total freedom to prioritize its
development plans without meeting prerequisites or having strings
attached.China will work with Pakistan to aim for
high-standard, sustainable and livelihood-enhancing outcomes and further
build the CPEC into an exemplary project of high-quality Belt and Road
cooperation, said President Xi in a congratulatory message to the Decade
of the CPEC celebration event held in Islamabad, Pakistan.The
project has laid the foundation for enhanced connectivity, trade and
economic integration between Pakistan and China, said Zamir. "It
exemplifies how two nations can collaborate on a grand scale to achieve
shared goals and development objectives."
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