Daily Times

Shi Yuanqiang, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Chinese Embassy, said on Monday that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had transformed Pakistan, making it an attractive destination for direct investment.

He was speaking at a seminar titled ’10 Years of CPEC: Success, Opportunities and Challenges’ organised by the Asian Institute of Eco-civilization Research and Development (AIERD).

Shi Yuanqiang said over the last 11 years, CPEC had brought $25 billion in direct investment, and now it had entered a new phase of development.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has gone through an extraordinary process since its launching. The “1+4” layout of CPEC construction set by President Xi Jinping and the Pakistani leaders has turned into a reality from a blueprint with a wide range of achievements. Energy cooperation has yielded remarkable results. The total installed capacity of the 14 energy projects that have been commercialized in operation accounts for about 1/5 of the total installed power capacity of Pakistan. The units of the SK Hydropower Station have been connected to the grid to generate electricity.

The Orange Line has helped the people of Lahore realize their dream of having a subway. The year-round opening of the Khunjerab Pass will ensure the all-weather economic and trade exchanges between our two countries. Construction and operation of Gwadar Port and its industrial free zone are progressing steadily, and completion of the Gwadar New International Airport will fully release the development potential of Gwadar Port. Industrial cooperation is another promising area: the first phase of the Rashakai Special Economic Zone has been in operation, generating strong momentum in Pakistan’s industrial development.

Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) Secretary Jamil Qureshi said 10 years ago, the monumental CPEC project began as a vision. Today, it had become a reality and had already started to reshape the economic landscape of Pakistan and the broader region. He said CPEC is not a collection of infrastructure projects; it is a vision for Pakistan’s future – a future where industries thrive, where employment opportunities are abundant, where technology is at the forefront of growth, and where economic relations reach new heights.

He said the key to unlocking the full potential of CPEC lies in creating a thriving industrial ecosystem and special economic zones. “We are pleased to witness the progress and the development of Rashakai SEZ in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dhabeji SEZ in Sindh, M3 Allama Iqbal in Punjab and Bostan SEZ in Balochistan as they are all in the advance stages of development,” he added.

Mr Qureshi said the government’s role had now evolved to that of a facilitator, to create the necessary policy frameworks, provide security infrastructure and incentive for supporting industrial growth and a conducive business environment.

He said the government established the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to foster horizontal and vertical collaboration for investment and business facilitation. AIERD Chairman Zahid Latif Khan said that in 2016, the three stock exchanges of China had taken 40pc stake in the Pakistan Stock Exchange. “Recently, our chief minister of Punjab visited China, but a day before yesterday, a very high-powered delegation under the leadership of the chairman of the Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the managing director of the Pakistan Stock Exchange also went to China to collaborate more on capital market development, which is very dynamic in China,” Mr Khan said.

He said CPEC presented a unique opportunity to deepen Pakistan’s financial market by introducing innovative financial instruments such as CPEC bonds and Islamic Sukuk, providing avenues for both local and international investors to participate in these projects.

Yu Chao from PowerChina said today we celebrate not only the success of the last decade but also the spirit of cooperation and mutual respect.

He said CPEC is not just an infrastructure initiative, it is also a symbol of deepening ties between the two countries one that aims to bring long-lasting prosperity of the whole region.

RCCI President Usman Shaukat said we need to enhance the potential of the projects.

He said Gwadar International Airport would bring more connectivity to people of different regions with Gwadar. “But, we also need to work on more linkages between the industries of Pakistan and China,” he added.

He said the API industry (active pharmaceutical ingredients) still has a lot of potential.

“Pakistan does not manufacture any of those and we are completely reliant on the imported sources for the raw material,” he said, adding that the APIs are something that the pharmaceutical industry absolutely needs to move forward.

He said since China is the leader in the API industry, we can have a lot of projects under CPEC to bring the technology transferred to Pakistan.

Retired Maj Gen Samrez Salik said CPEC is an essential segment of the BRI. He said that Pakistan was a frontline state in 20th-century geopolitics, which played havoc. Pakistan needs to realize that to unlock CPEC’s potential, it will have to ensure security for Chinese personnel and Chinese projects.

Speaking on the topic of CPEC and Gender, Nabila Jaffar said that CPEC cannot be considered a game-changer without the active and effective participation of women in these initiatives.

She said CPEC projects are empowering women in remote areas.

For example in Thar area, women are not skilled and cannot find any employment opportunities, she said, adding that when Thar coalmine power project was started, women were integrated in this project where they benefited economically.

Similarly, there is the technical and vocational institute in Gwadar, where women have been engaged in different kinds of projects. These projects showcase women’s talent, and Ms Jaffar said they can turn that opportunity into a source of livelihood.

Replying to Nabila Jaffar, scholar Hassan Daud Butt said CPEC is one of the only projects to happen in Pakistan where we have worked on in a Hindu majority region in Thar and where women’s participation is happening perhaps more than in any other region.

He said it is necessary to understand the larger economic aspect of how CPEC can help industrial development or industrial policy.

“What we need to understand is that every developing country can grow dynamically and become a middle-income country or high-income country in one or three decades, and China is an example,” he said.

Hamza Orakzai, CMDO STZA, said special economic zones were one of the five economic pillars.

He said that in the past eight years, Pakistan’s GDP has grown at merely 3.9 percent, but IT is growing at 25 percent.

“We have grown from $900 million export in IT in 2018 to $3.2 billion last year, and we are expecting $3.8 billion. Unfortunately, 50 percent of this goes to the US, around 30 percent to Europe and the Middle East, and hardly 5 percent goes to China,” he said.

Mr Orakzai said China is a leader in global technological innovations, and we can use Pakistani talent in this area.

Journalist Aun Sahi said in Pakistan, the media followed the philosophy of the West, but when it comes to China, they have a totally different kind of philosophy about media.

He said in the initial stages of CPEC, there was no planning on how to tackle media.

“Media was unable to find the focal person, whether in the Planning Commission or the Chinese embassy, who could educate them about CPEC and its projects,” he added.

Mr. Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, CEO of AIERD, concluded the seminar by quoting a study by AIERD; if there were no CPEC energy projects, Pakistan would be losing US$15-20 billion annually. The CPEC has turned Pakistan into a hub of connectivity and is helping Pakistan to achieve its dream of sustainable development and prosperity. Lastly, Pakistan and China should build joint mechanisms for security.