China is the most populated country in the world with a population of over 1.35 billion. To meet the economic needs of its citizens, Chinese visionary leadership has formed a gigantic global economic design. Over 94 percent of the Chinese population lives in six percent of the total area of China, while 94 percent area is still barren with only six percent of its people. Chinese cities are very big, densely populated and far from each other.
China has decided to cultivate and industrialise its 94 percent barren area. This way, the pressure on big cities will be shared, and people from densely populated cities will start moving towards new regions. For honourable dwelling and livelihood, the Chinese government has introduced cottage and heavy industry in the entire country. Sufficient food is being grown and produced locally.
The government is providing all sort of facilities to the domestic producers, growers, manufacturers, importers and exporters to positively and productively utilise their potentials. Thus China now thinks, behaves, acts and reacts like an emerging superpower.
China practically has encircled the entire world with its economic diplomacy design. Through road, rail, water and air, China has captured global markets. Chinese products are reaching Africa, Europe and Asia in a shorter time and lesser expenditures.
Pakistan will have to set up substantia heavy industries along the CPEC, instead of depending solely on China
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is not the only Chinese project of such design. Under One Belt One Road initiative, China is completing as many as seven economic corridors connecting the entire world — capturing global markets. Out of the seven, one is the CPEC. New Aero Asian Land Bridge is China’s first corridor which leads to Russia from Western China. China-Mongolia-Russia is the second corridor which leads to Eastern Russia through Mongolia.
The third is China-Central Asia Corridor which leads to Turkey through Central Asia. Fourth is Indo-China Peninsula Corridor which leads to Singapore through Southern China via Indonesia. Fifth is China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which leads to Gwadar from Western China. Sixth is China-Bangladesh-India-Myanmar Corridor which leads to Myanmar via Southern China, India and Bangladesh, while seventh is Maritime Silk Route which connects coastal China to the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea via Singapore and Malaysia.
China enjoys best of its political and diplomatic relations with all the countries using its economic diplomacy. On the one side, China is involved in Pakistan because of the CPEC while on the other, it is engaged in its corridor leading to Bangladesh, India and Myanmar. Peace is its global slogan. How can we even think that China will deteriorate its relationship with India in future under such economic plans? China maintains a balanced bilateral relationship with India. China’s current behaviour in Paris moot teaches us the lesson of future clear economic diplomacy. We need to learn a lot.
Visionary honourable Chinese President Xi Jinping struggled hard to save the future of over 1.35 billion Chinese. With the global economic design, China has connected itself with the entire world. For instance, Chinese products will reach from China to Gwadar. From Gwadar, one of their destinations will be East Africa. To take its products to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Ethiopia, China will reach Mombasa from Gwadar port. On the same global design, China has completed One Belt One Road in Kenya all the way to Uganda.
If China can meet the needs of its population through seven corridors, why can’t we? We have not yet focused on the proper utilisation of the CPEC for the prosperity of the200 million Pakistanis. Pakistan will have to set up substantial heavy industries along this corridor and should not depend on the share of profit from China only.
We have witnessed that Islamabad-Lahore motorway was constructed in 1992. The Pakistani nation was told that this motorway would reduce distance and ease the journey. Then PMLN government also said that industries would be set up along the motorway, but nothing happened.
An artificial energy crisis was created for a long time. But now the time has changed. If China can take its products all the way to Germany by road, rail and water, why can’t we? We will have to meet energy and power deficit at our earliest so that we could encourage industrialists for investment.
We will have to make ourselves compatible with the Chinese nation. We will have to match our frequency with China. I have observed that whenever our official delegations interact with the Chinese officials, our homework is found shallow.
We will have to enhance our capabilities and potentials so that we could match the frequency of other nations. Today we are facing the pressures of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) at the international level. We are very week in diplomacy. The Indo-US nexus continues working against Pakistan, and we never pay attention towards these pressing matters. Pakistan will have to move ahead with enhanced vision, wisdom and capability.
The writer is the author of several books, a columnist and political analyst based in Islamabad. He can be reached at [email protected]
Published in Daily Times, March 9th 2018.