Page 597 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a diplomatic move by China to
strengthen the relationship between China and Pakistan under the “One belt,
one road” initiative by China. Through this corridor, China will invest a huge
amount in various sectors including roads, railways, pipelines, healthcare,

etc. and in the development of infrastructure in Pakistan to strengthen
bilateral trade.

Historical Background

It was proposed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during his visit to Pakistan in

May 2013. As a part of the discussion, former Pakistani President Mamnoon
Hussain visited China in February 2014 where the idea for an economic
corridor emerged. The plan was finalised by former Pakistan PM Nawaz

Sharif and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at their meeting in China in April
2014. Finally, on 20 April 2015, Pakistan and China signed the agreement
which is popularly known as the “CPEC Agreement”.

Objectives

China is the world’s largest economy in manufacturing and exporting of

goods. With the enormous investment, China grew its economy very fast
within 25-30 years. Now, China’s infrastructure is almost complete and most
of the companies will shut down due to lack of projects and unemployment.

Due to these reasons, China’s GDP may fall and affect their growth rate. So,
creating a global influence in trade is the only way to rectify their

problems.But the South China Sea disputes creates a barrier to China to
progress their trade in the Southwestern and Middle-East region. China has
already started building an island to boost its trade relations with other
countries. But the US is the top trade rival to China and it deployed the US

Navy near the South China Sea to block the trade route of China. This urged
China to create an alternative trade route with the help of Pakistan. This will

link the western part of the world with China through the Gwadar port in
Pakistan.