Pakistan, China to improve quality and efficiency of CPEC: envoy

Charge’ D Affairs of the Chinese Embassy Pang Chunxue declared that under the leadership of the two countries, China, Pakistan will continue to work hand in hand to improve quality and efficiency of CPEC. They will also upgrade the all-round strategic cooperation to a new heights, building a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era. She was addressing here on Monday the International Conference on “Decade of China Pakistan Economic Corridor and Belt & Road Initiative from vision to reality. It was organized on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of CPEC and BRI. She said, she believes that CPEC will better benefit all the people of Pakistan. The conference was organized by the Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives in collaboration with Embassy of China. Those who attended the opening session included Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Secretary of Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives, Dr. Mukhatar Ahmed, Chairman of Higher Education Commission, and Dr. Nadeem Javaid, Chief Economist of Pakistan and Executive Director of CPEC Secretariat. Pang Chunxue announced that the New Gwadar International Airport, the Desalination Plant and the Pak-China Friendship Hospital will be completed one after another this year, which are all using assistance from China. With economic free zone booming and infrastructure completing, Gwadar is making steady progress towards the goal of a logistics hub and industrial base, as well as benefiting local people. She added, “Faqeer school built by China solves the schooling problem of more than 500 children, saving them from going to schools 10 kilometers away from home. China has also donated a total of 7,000 sets of solar panels to the common people in Gwadar, providing efficient electricity to local community. Energy projects, which enjoy the largest investments, have laid solid foundation for economic development and brought tangible benefits to society. Back in 2013, Pakistan encountered with severe energy crisis. To the request of Pakistan government, Chinese investors came here to launch energy projects. Up to now, there are 19 projects under the CPEC energy cooperation, with a total installed capacity of 13,010 MW. Fourteen projects have been put into commercial operation, with a total installed capacity of 8,020 MW, accounting for 19.4% of Pakistani total installed capacity, significantly solved the problem of power shortage. Among them, Sahiwal coal power plant was completed in only 22 months, which sets a new record for fastest thermal power complex construction in Pakistan. Infrastructure cooperation under CPEC has achieved great accomplishments. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrading project has greatly facilitated commuters by shortening traveling time from 8 hours to 2 hours. The Lahore Orange Line is the first metro train in Pakistan, carrying about 120,000 people daily. The Peshawar-Karachi motorway is running well and greatly improved the connection and communication of the country. Industrial Cooperation under CPEC is pivotal for the second phrase of CPEC high quality development. CPEC Framework Agreement on Industrial Cooperation has been signed and Mining working group has been established. Rashakai Special Economic Zone Phrase I as a fast-track project has completed construction.” This year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of CPEC. Over the past ten years, CPEC has been blessed with the visionary guidance of the leaders. In April 2015, President Xi Jinping paid a historic visit to Pakistan. She noted, that since then, the large-scale construction of CPEC has been accelerated. Last year, President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing. The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the contribution of CPEC to Pakistan’s social-economic development, and agreed to expedite CPEC and make it a high-quality demonstration project of the Belt and Road Initiative. Last month, Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Paris. Premier Li promised that China is ready to continue strengthening cooperation with Pakistan on CPEC. CPEC witnessed fruitful cooperation. During President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan, China and Pakistan set up the initial “1+4” pattern of CPEC, focusing on Gwadar port, energy, infrastructure and industrial cooperation. We are proud of the achievements. Through a decade of joint efforts, Gwadar has made tremendous progress. The port has achieved full operational capacity. Eastbay Expressway has connected Gwadar with the national highway of Pakistan, linking Gwadar port to Karachi. Moreover, CPEC has witnessed continuous expansion of cooperation fields and improvement of people’s livelihood. Under the JCC framework, it now has a total of 11 working groups, including long-term planning, security, international cooperation and coordination, agriculture, science and technology, information technology industry and social-economic development. By the end of 2022, CPEC has directly created around 236,000 jobs, of which more than 155,000 are for Pakistani employees. In addition, the Chinese companies have been actively dedicating to their CSR, including building roads, bridges, schools, hospitals for the local community and offering scholarships to the local young students, trying their best to improve the well-being and bringing the tangible benefits to Pakistani friends. The success of CPEC comes with its own logic. The reasons attributed to its success may include: First, CPEC truly reflects the concept of BRI which focuses on openness, inclusiveness win-win cooperation based on extensive consultation, joint construction and mutual benefits. It is open to all Pakistani people and has won the support of people from both China and Pakistan. Chinese engineers and workers left their homes to boost the development of Pakistan and have received brotherly care from the local people. Second, CPEC is in line with Pakistan’s development needs. Pakistan has a lot of potential in economic development with its very important location, huge land, young and robust population. CPEC brings connectivity, industrial cooperation, agricultural modernization, capital and technology, which are all urgently needed and well received by Pakistan to achieve prosperity and progress. Third, participation of the whole society is involved. The two governments provide directions, priorities, policy guidance through the JCC framework. So far, 12 JCC meetings have been convened to steer the process. Private sectors and the two peoples are all actively engaged in CPEC. We also jointly refute the disinformation and misinformation of CPEC and always stand together through thick and thin. “This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping. BRI cooperation has made positive contributions to economic development, employment, and improvement of people’s livelihood in all countries, and has become a popular international public goods and international cooperation platform. Statistics show that 151 countries and 32 international organizations have joined the initiative. It has generated nearly a trillion U.S. dollars in investment, established over 3,000 cooperation projects, created some 420,000 jobs in countries along the routes, and helped lift nearly 40 million people out of poverty. Research by the World Bank shows that thanks to BRI, by 2030, 7.6 million people will be uplifted from extreme poverty and 32 million people will get out of medium level poverty. We are confident that the BRI will become a more and more important public goods to the international community with our joint efforts.”