Economic corridor bodes well for Pakistan's development

Wang Yiwei, a researcher of international studies at Renmin University of China, shared his thoughts on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with Xinhua News Agency during a recent interview.  Here are the highlights of Wang's interview. 

Moody's comments regarding the economic corridor will boost Pakistan's economic growth, which is expected to remain at around 5 percent in next two years.  

The 3,000-kilometer corridor starts from Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Gwadar Port of Pakistan. It consists of railways, roads, oil and gas, and optical cables. The trade corridor is an important hinge between the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.  

The transport and power facility construction along the corridor will be finished by 2030 with a total investment of US$45 billion. 

The construction of the corridor is divided into three stages: build energy and infrastructure construction from 2013 to 2020; develop industries from 2021 to 2025; and develop culture, finance, tourism, trade and logistics from 2025 to 2030.

The main pillars of the corridor include energy, roads, railways, airways, oil and gas pipelines and information highways. There are five development zones along the corridor, such as Gwadar Port Area and Karachi export processing zone. 

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a key project in the Belt and Road Initiative. China-Pakistan cooperation can not only extend China's industry chain, but also effectively boost Pakistan's industrialization, as well as the modernization of its governance, so as to make the two countries a community sharing the same destiny.