Daily Times

Pakistan and China have decided to start a new phase of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with a lot of focus on industrial cooperation, agriculture, mining and energy.

Last year marked the 10th anniversary of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative. “Having drawn from the excellent progress that was made during the first 10 years of this corridor, both China and Pakistan have decided to start the new phase with a lot of focus on industrial cooperation and agriculture, as well as mining and energy, (with) a renewed focus on renewable energy,” he told China Daily. Beyond that, in the second phase of CPEC, the two elements of high-quality development and the sustainable nature of the projects will get sharper focus, he said.

“Going forward, we are very excited to start the next phase, building on the very good progress that has been made,” Hashmi said. “We have all the ingredients in place”, including good-quality infrastructure, he said. “These are areas which we also find alignment with, so both Pakistan and China agreed to pursue the next phase along these lines,” Hashmi said. Hailing China’s global vision, he said the global visions proposed by China, including the Belt and Road Initiative and the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, underscore Beijing’s goal of universal prosperity and sharing high-quality development with the rest of the world.

They “demonstrate the notion of win-win that President Xi Jinping has emphasized for a long time”, he added. Hashmi noted that at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in October, Xi announced an eight-point agenda in relation to the Belt and Road Initiative and that the global community lauds the program as it advances “innovation in development, livelihoods, open economy, (and) compliance with internationally accepted standards when building new projects”.

Xi, in his keynote speech, listed eight major steps that China will take to support the joint pursuit of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, which include building a multidimensional Belt and Road connectivity network and supporting an open world economy.

Hashmi believes the larger spirit in the concept of a community of shared future, especially in the new era, is highly significant. “As far as I can see, I think this is where China has done an excellent job in bringing forth to the developing world, its own experiences, and its own good practices,” he said.

China has its own experience in the past 30 to 40 years of lifting 800 million people out of poverty, developing first-class infrastructure, and producing some of the best goods with innovation and high quality, the diplomat noted. Hashmi said the Global Development Initiative, or GDI, is “yet another example of presenting a very solid vision of sustainable development for the world”. What makes the GDI so special for him is its complete alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

“It also places very high emphasis on three dimensions of development, which are social, economic, and environmental,” he said. Hashmi added that what makes China’s GDI more relevant is that it not only lays out a concrete vision but also the plans and means to achieve that vision.

He pointed out that the China International Development Cooperation Agency is focusing on “small yet smart” projects, which touch the lives of people, boosting livelihoods and making a difference in aspects such as health, education and water. “These are projects which have been prioritized under the overall rubric of GDI and part of BRI,” he said.