Asia will be more close to each other, because of CPEC.

Asia will be more close to each other, because of CPEC.

ISLAMABAD: Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong on Monday said Iran’s inclusion in the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would be beneficial for both Tehran and Islamabad.

Source: Pakistan Defence

The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (Chinese: 中国-巴基斯坦经济走廊; Urdu: پاكستان-چین اقتصادی راہداری‎), often referred to by the acronym CPEC, is a collection of projects currently under construction at a cost of $51 billion intended to rapidly expand and
upgrade Pakistani infrastructure as well as deepen and broaden economic links between Pakistan and the People's Republic of China. The corridor is considered to be an extension of China's ambitious One Belt, One Road initiative, and the importance of CPEC to China is reflected by its inclusion as part of China's 13th five-year development plan.

Pakistani officials predict that the project will result in the creation of upwards of 700,000 direct jobs between 2015–2030, and add 2 to 2.5 percentage points to the country's annual economic growth. Were all the planned projects to be implemented, the value of those projects would be equal to all foreign direct investment in Pakistan since 1970, and would be equivalent to 17% of Pakistan's 2015 gross domestic product.

“CPEC is a win-win cooperation so we are looking forward to explore the possibilities of cooperation among the all the regional countries,” said the ambassador.

To a question that CPEC could be an energy line from Iran to China in the future, Weidong said, “We can explore such a possibility.”

There are many projects under the CPEC framework that are being implementing or under construction in Pakistan, said the ambassador.

“There are 16 major projects that are under construction and Chinese side has already invested more than $13 billion,” he added.

The economic corridor, seen as a pivotal stepping stone in the all-weather China-Pakistan relationship, will connect China’s autonomous Xinjiang region to the Gwadar Port.  Opening new doors of economic opportunities in the region, the 3,000km mega project will have significant implications that can possibly alter the dynamics of global politics.

The deal will help strengthen Pakistan’s economy and cement its position in region.  For China, the CPEC will open new routes to the oil-rich Middle East via the Arabian Sea and reinforce inter-regional ties and enable the region to stand on its own, with minimal reliance on the West.

The diplomat went on to say that CPEC has created tens of thousands of jobs opportunities in Pakistan, “so we can see that CPEC can bring lot of benefits to Pakistani people”.

China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) is a mega project between the two countries under which China will invest $46 billion in Pakistan.

The economic corridor is about 3,000 kilometres long consisting of highways, railways and pipelines that will connect China’s Xinjiang province to Pakistan’s Gwadar port.