Recently, a series of activities related to the 10th anniversary of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor were held in Pakistan.

Street decoration with Chinese flag in Lahore, Pakistan

Over the past decade, as an important pilot project for the joint construction of the the Belt and Road, the construction of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor has achieved fruitful results and become a new benchmark for China Pakistan friendship. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the launch of the corridor, the Pakistani government will hold a Longchong Festival in the capital city of Islamabad.

The spokesperson stated that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners and staunch friends, and their friendship has been strengthened over time. China looks forward to working with the Pakistani side to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries through this visit, continue the traditional friendship between China and Pakistan, promote the construction of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor to carry forward the past, improve its quality and upgrade, consolidate and deepen the China Pakistan all-weather strategic partnership of cooperation, accelerate the construction of a closer China Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, and contribute to the development and prosperity of the region and even the world.

The construction of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor began in 2013. In 2015, the governments of China and Pakistan signed over 50 cooperation agreements, determining a 1+4 cooperation layout centered on the construction of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, with Gwadar Port, energy, infrastructure construction, and industrial cooperation as the four major priorities. Corridor construction and Pakistan's development have entered a fast lane.

At present, the construction of Gwadar Port continues to advance, and the energy cooperation between China and Pakistan has achieved significant results. Many clean energy projects such as wind power and hydropower have taken root, and the power supply has reached nearly one-third of Pakistan's total; The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade and renovation project, the Lahore Rail Transit Orange Line project, and other transportation infrastructure are operating well and playing an important role; The first phase of the Lashakai Special Economic Zone project has been officially completed, marking another breakthrough in industrial cooperation between China and Pakistan; The new hybrid rice and rapeseed jointly researched by China and Pakistan are growing well.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi previously stated that over the past decade, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor has led the industrialization process in Pakistan through investment and construction, playing an important role in promoting economic growth and improving people's livelihoods.

Zafar Udin Mahmud, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan and Chairman of the Pakistan Understanding China Forum, said that China Pakistan industrial cooperation is continuously improving Pakistan's industrial development level and enhancing Pakistan's independent hematopoietic capacity. In the current global economic environment, such high-quality cooperation is even more precious.

Zaffar gave an example of introducing Chinese technology to produce motorcycles on the streets of Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province, which greatly alleviated the foreign exchange pressure on imported vehicles in Pakistan; In the m3 industrial park in Faisalabad, ceramic products such as tiles produced by Chinese investment and technology have entered thousands of households in Pakistan, enhancing the independent capacity of the Pakistani building materials industry chain; In many parts of Punjab and Sindh provinces, Chinese hybrid rice has become a popular planting variety, with a significant increase in rice yield per mu.

The construction of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor has brought high standard energy infrastructure to Pakistan and made significant contributions to achieving sustainable economic, environmental, and resource development. Hassan Daud, Senior Advisor of the China Research Center at the Pakistan Institute for Sustainable Development Policy, stated that Pakistan has now overcome the power shortage dilemma and is working hard to achieve the goals of clean energy and sustainable development.

Chinese enterprises in Pakistan talked about the changes brought by the China Pakistan Economic Corridor to the local area. The former head of China Overseas Port Holdings Limited stated that with the improvement of local ports, hospitals, airports, schools and other infrastructure, Gwadar has now transformed into a modern coastal city, with a permanent population of 220000 people in 2023, up from 80000 in 2013. China State Construction Corporation stated in a statement that the largest transportation project in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Peshawar Karachi Expressway, was completed in 2019, providing 23000 local employment opportunities. The project has also driven the development of catering, retail, transportation and other service industries, indirectly creating over 45000 job opportunities.

Khalid Tamur Akram, Executive Director of the Research Center for a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity in Pakistan, said that the corridor project has trained a group of high-tech talents for Pakistan. During the construction period of the corridor project, community public welfare projects were also carried out to update public facilities such as schools and hospitals, improve local people's well-being, and receive widespread praise from the local people. Editor/Zhao E