Pakistan to get advanced technology under CPEC: Cheng Xizhong

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BEIJING:  Special Economics Zone (SEZ) will enable Pakistan to get foreign capital and advanced technology, said Professor Cheng Xizhong of Southwest University of Political Science and Law.

It will also expedite Pakistan towards industrialization and modernization. It is expected that a formal groundbreaking ceremony of Rashakai Special Economic Zone?SEZ), the first project for implementation of industrial cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), will be held soon.

With increasingly concrete progress having been made in the development of the CPEC, a flagship project of “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI), the focus of corridor development will gradually transit from infrastructure construction to industrial development under full discussion and consultation between China and Pakistan.

Quoting Cheng Xizhong, China Economic Net said that on top of everything else, it should be fully recognized that the construction of the 22 energy and transportation infrastructure projects in the first phase of the CPEC has created favorable conditions for the comprehensive development of Pakistan, including SEZs.

As the development of the CPEC gains momentum in the second phase, especially with the construction of the SEZs, new changes are expected to take place in Pakistan. In his comments, Cheng Xizhong, the development of the SEZs in cultivating scale economy by mass production and enhancing export of industrial products will bring a lot of financial interests to Pakistan.

Bilateral cooperation will be lifted to multilateral cooperation. Given that huge business opportunities will be generated under the development of SEZs, a flock of investors and foreign investments from many countries will flow into Pakistan in a large scale.

The influx of foreign capital and advanced technology will expedite Pakistan towards industrialization and modernization.

More-ever, a large amount of employment opportunities will be created.  Experts estimate that Rashakai SEZ will create 200,000 employment opportunities. If all the nine SEZs are put into operation, at least 1.8 million job positions will be provided to the local residents.

Cheng Xizhong who is also senior Fellow of the Chahar Institute added, “livelihood concerns will be gradually alleviated. Deng Xiaoping, Chief Architect of China’s Reform and Opening-up, once stated that development is the absolute principle. Only through development can we solve people’s livelihood problems and enable the broad masses of people to get rid of poverty and embark on the road of prosperity”.