China has made massive investment in Pakistan: CSAIS Executive Director

Islamabad: Executive Director Center for South Asia and International Studies (CSAIS) Islamabad Dr Mehmoodul Hassan Khan said that China had invested US $25.4 billion in direct projects in Pakistan, creating 236,000 jobs, generating 8,000 megawatts of electricity, and building 510 kilometers of highways and 886 km of the national electricity grid.

He mentioned that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had helped build an enabling economic environment in Pakistan as energy, education and the economy being among its key pillars.

In a statement issue here, Khan informed that about 28,000 Pakistani students were studying in China and more than 20,000 Pakistanis were learning Chinese.

He remarked that all prominent national experts were of the view that CPEC was a blessing and guarantor of our future socio-economic prosperity and eradication of poverty.

Talking about the 3rd Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Forum, he said that during his keynote speech, the Chinese president Xi covered all aspects of BRI’s past achievements, present status and future priorities.

It was constructive, positive, and productive, giving the message of hope of a brighter future through international cooperation, economic globalization, openness, inclusiveness, modernization and qualitative industrialization in all the member countries and rest of the world, he added.

“It clearly explained the important experience in achieving the success of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and proposes China’s support. It was a clear demonstration of the Chinese Geo-Economics,” Khan commented.

He further said: “President Xi Jinping’s pledged that the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China would each set up CNY 350 billion financing windows, and the Silk Road Fund would add CNY 80 billion in funds to support Belt and Road projects through market-oriented and commercial methods.”

Thus President Xi initiated a grand financial integration for the member countries of the BRI, he underlined.

Khan maintained that during BRF CEO Forum agreements reached on 97.2 billion US dollars of project cooperation through the Entrepreneur Conference. “China will also implement 1,000 small livelihood assistance projects, promote vocational education cooperation between China and foreign countries, and strengthen security guarantees for Belt and Road projects and personnel which is good omen for the development of SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) in the member countries,” he stated.

About Strategic significance of the ongoing BRF 2023, Khan said that the 3rd BRI Forum for International Cooperation was commenced in Beijing, the participation of more than 140 countries and 30 international organizations vividly reflected the strategic importance of BRI in term of socioeconomic development and trans-regional connectivity with the member countries covering more than 75 percent of world population and a large proportion of its GDP.

“It was carried out under the theme “High-quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Together for Common Development and Prosperity”, the forum, apart from the opening ceremony, consists of three high-level meetings for in-depth discussions on connectivity, green development and the digital economy, and six thematic forums on trade connectivity, people-to-people relationship, exchanges among think tanks, green Silk Road, sub-national cooperation and maritime cooperation,” he opined.

He said the BRF 2023 had also far reaching geostrategic importance and implications.

Khan underscored that the Chinese BRI had been providing essential X-Factors of development, connectivity, economic globalization, international cooperation, innovations, modernization and last but not least qualitative industrialization to all the member countries and rest of the world.

He said that three high-level forums on connectivity, green development and the digital economy were also held during the 3rd BRF. It also had many thematic sub-forums on trade connectivity, people-to-people communication, think tank exchanges, a clean Silk Road, sub-national cooperation and maritime cooperation which show its global utility consisting of development, diversification and digitalization.

He pointed out that the most recently published BRI’s White Paper highlights its important role in international cooperation covering all areas of geo-economics, connectivity and human capital growth through close policy liaison, infrastructure development, beneficial trade system, and closer people-to-people exchanges.

Moreover, it mitigated global development economic challenges and improved the global governance system. It carried people’s friendly policies/projects aimed to achieve the desired goals of modernization, qualitative industrialization and digitalization which has now become its biggest achievements, he said.

It ensured real formation of a global community of shared future which should be appreciated. Khan was of the opinion that said the 3rd BRF 2023 carried the message of befitting international cooperation, beneficial economic globalization, strategic importance of Global Civilization Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global China Initiative (GCI) and connectivity, development, digitalization, artificial intelligence technologies, modernization, openness and last but not least inclusiveness and green future.