The postponement of Chinese President's visit to Pakistan due to a situation created by twin sit-ins of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) has delayed many ambitious plans of the country's development and prosperity, opined a number of critics, economic and diplomatic experts. According to them, the visit would now have to be rescheduled, albeit at an enormous cost to the people of Pakistan.
While the people of Pakistan were naturally anxious for the Chinese President's visit to give shape and directions to a number of landmark projects, which are necessary for Pakistan's economy, the international financial markets and investors on the other hand were closely watching this visit too.
Pakistan is fortunate that it enjoys exemplary, uninterrupted, close, friendly and warm relations with the Peoples Republic of China, which has stood the test of times. Today, China is one of countries which not only has one of the largest foreign reserves but also developed a modern technology in various areas. Pakistan seeks both China's technology and investment to improve the life of its people.
President of China Xi Jinping who is currently on a visit to India had to cancel his visit to Pakistan at the last moment, where he was due to sign contracts of 45.6 billion dollars, according to conservative estimates of the officials concerned. These agreements envisaged an initial investment of 34 billion dollars. The China-Pak Economic Corridor Support Project (CPECSP) was approved by CDWP and Pakistan could have won many new deals upon arrival of the Chinese President.
According to the sources in the federal ministries, a set of new agreements/MoUs between Pakistan and China in the fields of energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, railways, communication, information, media, culture etc; were ready to be signed. The government has been holding in-depth talks with Chinese government since it came into power last year to strengthen and widen existing friendly relations between the two countries.
The Chinese government is committed to facilitate investment by Chinese companies in Pakistan. The Economic Corridor project received a major boost when control of Gwadar was transferred to China's state-owned China Overseas Ports Holding in February 2013.
Built by Chinese workers and opened in 2007, Gwadar is undergoing a major expansion to turn it into a full-fledged deep water commercial port. Pakistan and China have signed agreements for constructing an international airport at Gwadar, upgrading a section of the 1,300-kilometre Karakorum Highway connecting China to Islamabad and laying a fibre-optic cable from the Chinese border to Rawalpindi. With the development of the corridor Central Asia, traditionally an economically closed region owing to its geography and lack of infrastructure will have greater access to the sea and to the global trade network via Pakistan making it international economic hub.
In the energy sector 14 power projects including hydel, wind and coal projects with total investment of 15.5 billion dollars and a total production capacity of 10400 mega watts were likely to be signed during the visit.
Besides, projects having total production capacity of 6,120 mega watts are also contemplated to be installed with a total investment of 18.3 billion dollars.
These energy projects would meet the present and future needs of the country in increasing the growth rate and stimulate economic activity which had been long held hostage due to deficiency of power in the country.
China is also pouring its investment into alternative energy production. Bahawalpur solar park which is one of its own kinds in the South Asia and 100 MW wind energy project-II are under construction in this sector.
The projects for the construction of Lahore-Karachi Motorway and the Riot-Islamabad section, necessary for the construction of Bhasha Dam were also to be signed during the visit of President XiJinpang.
Another railway project for the expansion and reconstruction of existing line ML-1 having a length of 1736 km and Havelian Dry port were also to be constructed with Chinese investment at a cost of US $3.7 billion.
Separately, the Chinese have agreed to sign infrastructure projects including dredging of the Gwadar port, establishment of an international port, port related industries, fresh water treatment and supply facilities, hospitals and technical vocational institutes at Gwadar. The Chinese had also agreed to invest in the establishment of economic zone, an optical fiber cable project and in the field of communications at a total cost of US $1.64 billion dollars. The Chinese President's visit to Pakistan was to help assist a friendly country in meeting its short-term energy requirements and also to lay a foundation of a sustainable relationship to stimulate growth, reduce poverty and unemployment.
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