China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC): Bane or Boom

Contents: 1. Strategy of China Pakistan Economic Corridor. 2. China Pakistan Economic Corridor and India's Strategic Interests. 3. China Pakistan Economic Corridor and Balochistan. 4. Pakistan China Bilateral Relations and Strategy. 5. The China Pakistan Financial Corridor. 6. China's Role in Proliferation Nuclear Trade with Pakistan. 7. The Economic Corridor Pakistan Enters China's New Silk Road. 8. China and Pakistan Defence Relations.

The under-development China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) became operational in the sense that the first convoy of trucks laden with Chinese goods traversing the CPEC’s 3,000-kilometre journey from Kashgar in China arrived at Gwadar and was further seen off in a Chinese ship from Gwadar to West Asia and Africa. Pakistan’s top civilian and military leaders were reportedly present at Gwadar to see off the Chinese ship. The CPEC functions on a number of different levels. Symbolically it would be potent evidence of what economic benefits a country that allies with Beijing can expect. A rough comparison would be the Marshall Fund, the programme by which the United States rebuilt war-torn Europe, reworked the very economic structure of that continent and showcased its arrival as a superpower. Chinese officials themselves speak of how the CPEC will not be just about trade and transit, it will be about bringing stability to Pakistan. Taming, as it were, a rogue state with poured concrete. The only big thing going for an isolated Pakistan is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Unable to tackle its internal security problems - for which it now wrongly blames India - it prefers focusing on the good times the world thinks the Chinese investment of $46 billion will bring. This book attempts to analyse such issues in addition to assessing the opportunities that Economic Corridor offers, and challenges that it faced with.