THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE

 > OPINION

CPEC: a reality, not a romance

By Tahir Habib Cheema
Published: August 4, 2018
Tahir Habib Cheema

Understanding what the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is and

what it means for the socio-economic development in Pakistan is becoming
critical, especially when such a rational opportunity is termed a romance by
some and a threat by others. There is no doubt that CPEC is just one of the six
economic corridors envisioned under the One Belt One Road (OBOR)
initiative for closer economic ties, deeper cooperation and greater space for
development. Shedding all kinds of negativity, Pakistan must capitalise on its
geostrategic location by fully optimising its potential to grow without any
unfounded fears and apprehensions.

OBOR initiative was floated by China in 2013 to support policies for

economic integration of Asia, Europe and Africa through various projects,
holding infrastructure development at its core. Based on its own experience,
China believes that strengthening connectivity will lead to regional economic
development. It is already involved in Europe with a special focus on Central
and Eastern Europe and Mediterranean countries. Major OBOR projects in
Europe primarily cover establishment of port terminals and railway tracks.
This increasing Chinese influence in Europe is also showing its effects on
European diplomacy which is showing a shift in the economic alignment of
Europe from the United States to China.

In Asia, CPEC is so far the most successful and delivering example of the
OBOR initiative. As China is looking for a larger global buy-in to OBOR,
success of CPEC is of critical importance. Accepting the reality that China is
leading the world economy, no logical thought can suggest not to become a
partner in success. The world is fast realising the importance of geo-
economics, which must take precedence over geopolitics, especially in the
context of what is happening in the United States post-Trump, the fears in
Europe related to post-Brexit and the way leaders are inspiring their nations
following a forward looking global economic agenda.

The larger political consensus on CPEC in Pakistan points towards a

realisation of the fact that economic development takes lead when it comes to
choose between politics and economics. In this consensus lies a hope for
Pakistan’s bright future. The current time asks for the learned and wise in the
country to focus their energies on spreading the positivity by making their
audience realise the potential the Pakistani nation has to best utilise the
opportunity at hand in the shape of CPEC for changing its fate.

Pakistan must not look at it as a threat or ignore the rare opportunity rather
while reviewing the option seriously and judiciously, make its full use.
Chinese growth during the last 20 years has remained very impressive, but
Pakistan unfortunately lost the same 20 years. Making use of the current
acceleration in the economy, Pakistan can save the future 20 years learning
from the Chinese experience. Infrastructure development, planned urbanisation
and developing the less developed areas helped China in achieving its overall
development objectives. Principles like following single direction; showing
discipline; and feeling responsibility supported the Chinese vision. The power
supply situation in China was not good in the early nineties but during its
initial development phase, China followed the strategy of “first build, and then
clean and protect” to overcome its power deficiency. Allowing an equitable
excess to financing and ensuring recovery through the participation of local
bodies turned out to be a successful model. Maintaining the pace of
infrastructure development, China did not worry much about the financial risks
associated with project lending which is understandable given the allied
economic activity generated through such mega projects. In the second phase
of development, China shifted its focus towards bringing innovation in
transportation, infrastructure and financing sectors. All these approaches are
well tested, and have lessons for Pakistan.
China is extending a close cooperation under CPEC, ignoring any kind of
negative impact of internal issues and challenges faced by Pakistan, which tags
an exceptional status to this relationship. For the developing countries,
bilateral economic ties are mostly of a fragile nature and always stay under a
looming threat of non-economic situations. It has been seen in the past that
anything unusual happening in Pakistan would raise fears of direct impact on
the economic cooperation mechanisms, but that is something hard to find in
the economic cooperation between Pakistan and China. This fact is not a minor
one to ignore as it is believed that sustainable and long-term planning is
critical for real growth and development, and that is only possible if trust
levels are high enough to discredit the negativities surfacing all the time.

The exceptional and rare unified approach shown by different administrations

in Pakistan towards CPEC has proved quite supportive in maintaining the
confidence of its partner — China, intact and high, which was feared to wither
by many. At the same time, it has helped in blocking the apprehended negative
impact of an all-out effort made to malign the project by the forces threatened
by the socio-economic development of Pakistan. CPEC — a win-win project
of high value, is here to add to the country’s long-term growth requiring due
attention and focus with proper planning and professional management, and
now it is the responsibility of the policymakers and implementers in Pakistan
to translate the associated vision into a reality.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2018.