The beginning of cargo trade operations from Gwadar seaport is a step towards deepening commercial and business ties between China and Pakistan, said a report published in Chinese newspaper Global Times on Tuesday.
The ambitious economic corridor linking Kashgar in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur and Gwadar Port in southwest Pakistan has become a reality with the first shipment of Chinese goods through the renovated port.
Pakistan has big development potential given the strategic value of its location at the intersection of South Asia, China and Central Asia. The next target in the Sino-Pakistan cooperation is expected to be tapping that potential to benefit the local people.
The renovated port of Gwadar will help pave the way for China and Pakistan to strengthen their industrial cooperation as new trade routes exporting goods to West Asia and Africa from the port open up. Some optimists even have suggested that the CPEC could make Pakistan a regional hub of economic activities, the newspaper said.
What lies behind the benefit gained in recent years by cooperating with China is Pakistan’s open attitude toward Chinese investment. Recent years have seen increasing mutual trust between the two neighbours, with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif saying whoever is against the CPEC is against Pakistan.
This forms a sharp contrast to political suspicions concerning Chinese investment in some other countries like India, which are still reluctant to participate in China’s Belt and Road initiative, the newspaper commented.
According to the newspaper, while the goals of the project are grand, some hostile overseas forces also have their eyes on the route. What matters more is not the signing of deals, but the timely execution of the deals, which requires security guarantees along the route.
China is working with countries along the Belt and Road route to build a network of roads and infrastructure facilities, such as power plants. As a model project for the initiative, the CPEC has proven effective in promoting the development of the local economy.
The CPEC has the potential to be a game-changer that will allow Pakistan to play a more important role in the economic landscape of South Asia if India continues refusing to enhance its economic ties with China. China’s initial success in pushing forward the CPEC may arouse vigilance in India, but it would not necessarily be a bad thing if the changing economic landscape in the region puts some pressure on New Delhi to rethink its strategy toward the Belt and Road initiative and Chinese investment. China always takes a positive and open attitude toward working with any countries along the route and there is huge potential for cooperation between Beijing and New Delhi in a number of fields such as improving and upgrading the railway system in India.
Gwadar port is a key part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which seeks to transform Pakistan into a regional hub of trade, commerce and manufacturing and facilitate China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative.