Tag Archive for: China

ISLAMABAD: 

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a hot topic these days. The government wants to sell it as its major achievement, while the opposition claims its contribution in negotiating during its tenure.

A quick review of the documents shows that the CPEC seeds had been sown long ago. Beijing Declaration 2003 gives the first footprint of the concept. Pakistan’s former ambassador to China late Akram Zaki once told me that the land corridor had been on the cards since the times of air corridor in the 1960s, and Silk Road was the first step toward it.

CPEC is a bigger initiative in nature and it will transform the economy of Pakistan and the same has been promised in Vision 2025. Therefore, it is necessary to dwell on linkages between Vision 2025 and CPEC. Comparative analysis shows the two have so many complementarities.

CPEC investments are related to infrastructure, energy, railways, optic fibre, agriculture, tourism as well as research and development. Energy and transport sectors are on the priority list along with Gwadar city and port. Vision 2025 identifies that every year Pakistan loses 4-6% of its GDP due to the energy crisis. This loss to GDP means decline in production base, exports, saving and investment, inflation and availability of employment.

Owing to the energy crisis, industries started relocating outside the country, which further contributed to non-availability of jobs and decline of exports. The declining exports are another area, which is now haunting the country. Trade deficit is increasing and negative impact on foreign reserves and balance of payment is evident. Vision 2025 outlined a plan and strategy for investment in different forms of energy like coal, hydro and renewable. Coal was cogitated as one of the most immediate source.

Despite the investments in coal sector, its share in the electricity mix would be minimum and benefits enormous. It will help overcome the chronic problem of load-shedding. Cheap and sustainable supply of electricity will enhance the competitiveness of the industry and boost exports and provision of jobs, especially for the youth. Apart from coal, a huge investment has made in renewable power sources like solar, wind and hydro, and Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park is already operational.

Vision 2025 also identifies infrastructure related to transport as one of the major impediment for rapid growth. Almost 7% of GDP is lost due to inefficient transport sector. Investment in infrastructure will enhance efficiency and regional connectivity. Regional connectivity will pave the way for trade and peace.

Railways share in transportation will also be increased from 4% to 20%. Through CPEC, investment is being made to upgrade roads, construction of new highways, motorways and creating linkages among existing roads.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under CPEC would be a way to achieve goals of Vision 2025. First and foremost would be the enhancement and sustainability of the production base of country. It will create jobs, as Pakistan needs 1.5 million jobs every year to accommodate and benefit from the youth bulge.

Other factors

Another important area is water, food and energy security in the country and along with that are two most serious problems. SDPI in 2013 concluded that almost 58.8% population is food insecure. Analysis further exhibited that the situation in 2025 will be more complicated due to population increase and climate change. Water availability is another area of grave concern. Per capita availability has come down to 1,000 cm2. Climate change is impacting water sector in Pakistan and the country is already facing water disasters like floods and drought. According to IPCC and UNDP report on vulnerability, the situation will be further complicated in the near future.

This grave situation requires urgent and sustainable investment in water and agriculture sector. Fortunately, Vision 2025 and CPEC also prioritise these areas. Vision 2025 outlined the goals of doubling power generation and enhancing access from 67% to 90%. Water storage will be increased to up to 90 days from 30 days. Food insecure population will be down to 30%.

To improve food security, agriculture is an acceptable sector to play a leading role with its multiple roles, eg production of food, employment to 44% labour force, which contributes to 21% of GDP. Long Term Plan (LTP) of CPEC gives a comprehensive list of programmes for investment. It includes farming, livestock breeding, forestry and food growing, and aquatic and fishery. Research and technological cooperation would be augmented. Production of inputs would also encourage and given technological assistance. Agriculture is also targeted as a key area to combat poverty by transferring sector into climate change resilient and globally competitive sector.

Water was the part of CPEC in different forms like drinking, sanitation, agriculture and industry. Now both China and Pakistan have decided to amplify cooperation. Dam building has also been included in the list of CPEC. Different sources quote a figure of $50 billion for building a cascade of dams along the Indus river. Infrastructure related to water will also be made resilient to climate change. There would also be investment in irrigation sector, especially in drip irrigation.

Apart from the areas mentioned above, Vision 2025 also spells out the goals about tourism development. It is a well-established fact that Pakistan is bestowed with beautiful landscape and geography. Vision 2025 identified religious, historical and naturally attractive sites as potential for developing tourism. LTP outlined the development of eco-tourism in coastal and mountainous areas of Pakistan.

China will help improve knowledge base for Pakistan. It will build the capacity of universities and students to compete at international level. Exchange programmes have already been started and now thousands of Pakistani students are not only frequent visitors of Chinese universities, but are also studying there.

A comparative study of Vision 2025 and LTP of CPEC shows that both are complimentary to each other with a number of goals and objectives. The only thing is how Pakistan opts for the Chinese model of success by using its indigenous tools of development and research.

The writer is the Head of Centre for Future Policy and Head of Research Coordination Unit, Sustainable Development Policy Institute.

Source: https://news.cpecb.com/cpec-is-set-to-transform-pakistans-economy/

ISLAMABAD  : 

The western route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is going to be completed by the end of this year along with other 11 mega projects which were initiated in 2015-16.

The completion of those projects will reduce travelling time and boost economic activities.

“Hakla-DI Khan having the length 285km with a cost of Rs122 billion and 81km Zhob-Mughalkot costing Rs8.8billion funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will be completed by December 2018,” a senior National Highway Authority (NHA) official told The Express Tribune.

“The completion of these two projects will connect the port city of Gwadar with Quetta by Khuzdar,” he said and added, “With it the western route will become completely functional.”

According to the NHA the under-construction projects – the Hakla to Dera Ismail Khan motorway — is an important part of the western route of CPEC, and will reduce the travel time from Islamabad to DI Khan from five hours to just two-and-a-half hours.

It will greatly help the movement to the country’s southern cities such as Quetta and Gwadar.

Meanwhile, another important project — Khuzdar- Ratodero (151 km) that has been completed at a cost of Rs8.8 billion is all set to be inaugurated this year in April.

This project though is not part of CPEC.

NLC plans setting up international standard rest areas on CPEC route

“The significance of this project is that it will provide the much-needed connectivity between Balochistan and Sindh and also facilitate CPEC traffic originating from the Gwadar Port,” said the NHA official.

Other projects include the Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9) where 95% work has already been completed and will see the finish line in March.

The 136km, the six-lane motorway with the two-lane service road on either side, is being built on the BOT basis at a cost of Rs44 billion.

Being the country’s busiest section with over 30,000 daily traffic count, this motorway will be immensely helpful in catering to the commercial traffic originating from the Karachi Port and the Port Qasim.

Following the recent inauguration of the Lyari Expressway, M-9 will offer an added benefit to commuters to reach their destinations without facing the city congestions.

Gojra-Shorkot (62km) and Shorkot-Khanewal (65km) sections of M-4 are scheduled to complete by August with a cost of Rs17 billion and Rs22 billion, respectively.

Financed jointly by the Asian Development Bank and Government of Pakistan, their completion will reduce travel time from the federal capital to Multan to just 5 hours.

Lahore-Abdulhakim Motorway (230 km) is another important project that is expected to complete by May. Built at a cost of Rs 148 billion, the six-lane motorway will provide a swift and easy route between Lahore and Multan.

CPEC toll income — myth and reality

One of the important links of CPEC and the country’s longest planned motorway, Multan-Sukkur (M-5) is though scheduled to complete in 2019.

Its two sections — Multan to Shujaabad and Pano Aqil to Ghotki — will be completed this year. The 392km-long motorway is being financed by China at a cost of Rs294 billion.

Lahore-Sialkot Motorway (89 km) will be completed on the BOT mode by December at a cost of Rs44 billion. It will link the industrial city of Sialkot with the rest of the country, leading to swift movement of industrial products.

Islamabad Metro Bus (26.5km), another challenging project, is under execution and will be completed by the end of April. The project will link the traffic from the twin cities with the New Islamabad International Airport (NIIA).

Hazara Motorway (E-35) from Burhan to Shah Maqsood Interchange (47km) is already completed and open to traffic. The 15km addition is scheduled to complete by May, thus reducing the distance between Islamabad and Abbottabad to one-and-a-half hours.

The widening and improvement of GT Road section from Thokar Niaz Baig to Hudria Drain (10km) is underway and will be completed this year.

Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/1633076/1-cpec-western-route-completed-end-year/

LAHORE: In a bid to reduce its dependence on Pakistan, Afghanistan has shifted 80 per cent of its cargo traffic from Pakistan’s Karachi seaport to Iran’s Chabahar and Bandar Abbas ports. The move caused in part by a new trade tariff imposed by Pakistan comes barely two months after the inauguration of Iran’s Chabahar Port.

Chabahar being Afghanistan’s closest link to the Indian Ocean is expected to get a larger share of Afghanistan’s trade in the future. According to Asia Times, $ 5 billion worth of Afghan trade will be conducted solely through the tripartite Chabahar Port, sponsored jointly by India, Iran, and Afghanistan, once it starts feeding the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

“Afghanistan is no longer dependent on Pakistan for the shipment of goods as it can now use Iran’s Chabahar Port for this purpose, said Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah while talking to the media in November last year indicating the impending move.

In the current fiscal year, the trade volume between Pakistan and Afghanistan that stood at $ 2.5 billion has fallen to $ 500 million due to deteriorating relations between the two countries.

On the other hand, Afghanistan’s trade relations with India seem to be moving in the right direction.  “On a reciprocal basis, Afghanistan opened a second aerial corridor for India, enabling India to establish a direct trade link between Mumbai and Kabul. The first flight took 40 tonnes of dried and fresh fruits and medicinal herbs to India through the aerial route,” said Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) Director Zia Ul Haq Sarhadi while talking to Asia Times.

The loss of Afghanistan’s cargo trade is expected to adversely affect the Pakistani economy that is already facing a widening trade deficit and worsening balance of payments. According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) figures, in the five months (July to November 2017) Pakistan’s trade deficit increased to $ 15.03 billion, mainly because of a 16.4 per cent increase in CPEC related imports compared to the previous year. The figure is expected to hit $ 35 billion by the end of fiscal 2017-18 if growth remains stagnant.

The widening trade deficit has also put pressure on the country’s foreign reserves which are gradually shrinking. A potential economic crisis looms as the reserves are estimated at around $ 14.66 billion with Pakistan expected to make foreign debts servicing payments by the end of June 2018.

“It is unfortunate that trade under CPEC is facilitated by the government and Afghan transit and bilateral trade is totally ignored,” Sarhadi further said.

The current situation calls for Pakistan to re-evaluate its priorities. While CPEC promises much for the future, the country’s high-ups need to assess the impact of their current policies on the overall economy and make needed adjustments.

Source: https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/02/04/afghanistan-looks-to-reduce-dependence-on-pakistan-via-chabahar-port/

BEIJING: Beijing criticised the “outdated Cold War mentality” of the United States Wednesday after President Donald Trump named China among threats to American values in his State of the Union address.

In recent weeks, US officials have laid the groundwork for a strategic pivot that envisions a world of renewed great power competition with the likes of Russia and China.

In his State of the Union address to Congress and the nation on Tuesday, Trump described Moscow and Beijing as challenging “our interests, our economy, and our values”.

In Beijing Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the common interests of the US and China “far outweigh our differences and disagreements”.

A steady relationship with the United States is “also in the interest of the whole world,” Li said after meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

“China hopes that the United States will work with us and continue to view this relationship in a positive overall perspective,” he said.

But Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying had more critical words.

“We hope the US side can abandon the outdated Cold War mentality to work for the shared goal with China of properly managing our differences and upholding the steady development of China-US relations,” she told a regular press briefing.

Source: https://arynews.tv/en/china-trump-cold-war-mentality/

ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan and China are going to hold another round of talks on revising Free Trade Agreement (FTA) next month, Pakistan has demanded relaxed tariffs from China under Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to relatively balance bilateral trade.

“China will extend every support to Pakistan treating it as a friendly and neighbouring country. We can give maximum relaxation on trade but to the extent of what the market allows,” Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing said while addressing a news conference along with Minister for Commerce and Textile Industry Pervaiz Malik here on Tuesday. The envoy said Pakistan as a neighbour, definitely occupies a special position in China’s policy, adding that China will do whatever is required to promote Pakistan’s exports.

“The difficulty we face is to identify items to be imported from Pakistan. This is why I suggest Pakistani exporters to visit China for exploring its commodity markets. Similarly, China will like to send purchasing delegations to identify more items for the bilateral trade,” he further added.

“China will love to buy Pakistani products and will endorse whatever competitive products Pakistan introduces in the Chinese markets,” he said.

The Chinese ambassador said that “This year Pakistan and China will hold another round of FTA. I understand that there are concerns from private sector and manufacturers on Pakistan’s side on the FTA. China considers Pakistan a special partner and it will never like to damage its industry through this kind of bilateral agreement. Our intention is to have a more convenient and facilitating mechanism of bilateral trade. We want to encourage and facilitate trade cooperation on principles of following Pakistan’s convenience, concerns and satisfying its requirements.”

Yao Jing informed that he had discussed with the Commerce Minister some ideas to ‘ease and relax’ visa mechanism for Pakistani businessmen especially exporters so that they can have a better understanding about trade opportunities in China.

He further informed that the Chinese embassy and counsellor generals would have regular meetings with the Ministry of Commerce to encourage all exporters and businessmen to further strengthen the bilateral trade.

Answering a question, the envoy assured that the Chinese government would accommodate and extend maximum concessions possible to Pakistani products under the FTA.

The envoy said that in the long term, China will support Pakistan establish special economic zones which would help increase Pakistan’s capacity to manufacture quality products for export to international markets.

He also sought specific suggestions from Pakistan to attract Chinese manufactures to invest in Pakistan’s industrial sector.

Replying to a question, the Commerce Secretary Muhammad Younus Dhaga said that the last round of the FTA held in Beijing was very positive as the issues highlighted by Pakistan were taken well by the Chinese side. He said Pakistan has demanded the relaxation of tariff on a number of items as per the treatment given to ASEAN members by China.

Meanwhile, Chinese ambassador invited Pakistan to attend a six-day international ‘Import Expo’ scheduled to be held at its National Exhibition and Convention Centre, Shanghai from November 5 to 10 this year.

Source: Pakistan Today, 23rd January 2018.