The 3rd BRI forum for international cooperation will be held on October 17-18 in Beijing in which the Chinese policy makers will share new priorities, plans, policies and projects to gear-up regional as well as global development through BRI which has been dubbed as “Project of the 21st Century”. In this regard, more than 120 countries have been confirmed their participation in this grand event.
In the last ten years, BRI has been successfully introduced and institutionalized new concept of development, cooperation and coordination which has never been “expansionary”, “exploitative”, “conquest” and “conspiratorial”. Due to which more than 153 countries, 200 documents and 32 international organizations have been joined and signed the BRI which vividly reflected its “global importance” and “stimulating capacity” to gear-up the world’s economy in right direction. It is now “responsible” for a new era of transit routes, trade, and growth for economies in Asia, Central Asia, ASEAN, Africa, EU and around the world.
According to Chinese International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) the BRI has so far completed over 3,000 projects in the last ten years. This expansive effort has garnered support from more than 180 countries and international organizations which is good omen for the regional as well as international economy.
According to many published report, the BRI has become a mega development project with US$4 trillion investment in more than 160 countries, 1590 projects of 1.9 trillion tagged to BRI, 1574 projects of 2.1 t were Chinese investments.
Hopefully, the next decade would also be full of economic, industrial, green energy transformation, human capital development, health, climate change and last but not least, true reflection of multiculturalism in which Global South will achieve its desired goals of socio-economic prosperity and sustainable growth.
Moreover, despite severe geopolitics of the US, EU and now India to contain China and collapse its economy has announced their own trans-regional projects namely Build Back Better World (BBBW), Global Gateway (GGW) and India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) but all of these projects have not yet been “surfaced” and “materialized”. The most recently Israel-Hamas war would further produce strains on IMEC and BBBW.
It seems that propaganda against China, CPEC and BRI have gained “momentum” even in Pakistan which is not a good omen. Despite sponsored bad mouthing China has once again expressed its readiness to promote high quality development of the CPEC a mega project of BRI that brought tangible benefits to the economic development of Pakistan and its people.
During the third Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation held in Nyingchi, in China’s Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region while meeting with caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani the Chinese foreign minister and a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs. Wang upheld that the CPEC had brought tangible benefits to the economic development of Pakistan and its people.
Jilani acknowledged that CPEC had helped Pakistan transform its economic landscape and brought tangible benefits to the country. He underscored the importance of regional cooperation for green development, ecological preservation and connectivity for inclusive and sustainable development.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong has also reconfirmed fruitfulness of the CPEC in the last decade cementing the solid foundation of ironclad friendship between the two countries.
He shared that CPEC has brought a total of $25.4 billion in direct investment, 155,000 direct jobs, 510 kilometres of expressways, 8,200 megawatts of power capacity and 886 kilometres of core power transmission grid to Pakistan, injecting strong momentum into Pakistan’s economic and social development.
He was of view that China’s spirit of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits would further promote policies of Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilizational Initiative with Pakistan, providing more stability and positive energy to regional and world peace and development.
Furthermore, China’s Global Community with Shared Future will foster a new era with high-quality construction of the CPEC as the platform and Pakistan will constantly deepen and strengthen protecting mutual interest and benefit both peoples amid the change on a scale unseen in a century.
According to reliable diplomatic sources, Pakistan and China are going to sign over two dozen pacts at the 3rd BRI Forum. According to Chinese embassy, National Development and Reform Commission of China (NDRC) has proposed to sign MoUs with relevant authorities in Pakistan during caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar’s visit to China to attend the forum covering eight areas: Urban Sustainable Development, major Issues of the Belt and Road Cooperation Mineral Development and Industrial Cooperation, Research of the Routes for Industrial Cooperation, Expert Exchange Mechanism, Expert Communication Mechanism on Gwadar port Development, Green and Low-carbon Development, and Digital Economy Cooperation.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Mission in Beijing has shared a list of 19 MoUs which are expected to be signed/ announced during the visit of caretaker Prime Minister.
Moreover, Main Railway Line-1, Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), realignment of KKH (Thakot-Raikot) will also be discussed during the 3rd BRI forum. D I Khan- Zhob Road Project, Mirpur-Muzaffarabad-Mansehra road, Babusar tunnel and Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9) will also be discussed.
China has shared draft MoU on development of renewable energy projects in Pakistan on September 26, 2023. Pakistan is reviewing the proposal.
Pakistani side have completed all formalities pertaining to 1320-MW Thar Block-1(Shanghai) and 300-MW coal project Gwadar, hopefully both sides will make substantive progress.
In summary, it predicts that genie of geopolitics would further divide the world in the future. The regional as well as global economies would be on the mercy of obsessive power politics of the US and the West. The incidents of de-coupling and de-risking would be further accelerated creating serious hurdles in global value supply chains.
The ongoing Israel-Hamas have regional as well as global socio-economic, geo-political and geostrategic ramifications which would further derail and delay process of grand normalization in the Middle East which would lessen futuristic orientations of Saudi-Iran peace agreement. Connectivity, economic cooperation and political stability would be in the line of fire due to naked aggression of both sides which should be settled through peaceful negotiations.
Nevertheless, the future belongs to green energy(wind, solar), blue/green hydrogen power generation, EVs, lithium batteries, smart living, conservation of water resources, disaster management and joint efforts anti-looming threats of climate change in which CPEC and BRI would play important role in the days to come. BRI carries true spirits of geo-economics which would reduce ripples of the geopolitics in the world. The author is: Executive Director: The Center for South & International Studies (CSAIS) Islamabad, Regional Expert: China, CPEC & BRI
