China-Pakistan Economic Corridor - Revision history

Jyoti: /* For many Pakistanis, the CPEC is a one-way street */

2018-04-13T20:07:37Z

‎For many Pakistanis, the CPEC is a one-way street

Jyoti: /* For many Pakistanis, the CPEC is a one-way street */

2018-04-13T20:06:47Z

‎For many Pakistanis, the CPEC is a one-way street

Pdewan: /* For many Pakistanis, the CPEC is a one-way street */

2017-08-02T21:26:18Z

‎For many Pakistanis, the CPEC is a one-way street

Pdewan: /* Deloitte on how CPEC will boost Pakistan’s economy */

2017-08-02T21:07:18Z

‎Deloitte on how CPEC will boost Pakistan’s economy

Pdewan: /* Agriculture */

2017-05-17T08:50:21Z

‎Agriculture

Pdewan: /* Agriculture */

2017-05-17T08:48:44Z

‎Agriculture

Pdewan: /* How the plan was made */

2017-05-17T08:47:01Z

‎How the plan was made

Pdewan: /* How the plan was made */

2017-05-17T08:40:48Z

‎How the plan was made

Pdewan: /* How the plan was made */

2017-05-17T08:37:14Z

‎How the plan was made

Pdewan: /* How the plan was made */

2017-05-17T08:28:15Z

‎How the plan was made

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 Gilgit
 == For many Pakistanis, the CPEC is a one-way street==
-[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/for-pakistanis-china-friendship-road-runs-one-way/articleshow/59879629.cms    Reuters |For Pakistanis, China 'friendship' road runs one way ''The Times of India''| Aug 2, 2017]
+[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/for-pakistanis-china-friendship-road-runs-one-way/articleshow/59879629.cms  Reuters |For Pakistanis, China 'friendship' road runs one way ''The Times of India'', Aug 2, 2017]

@@ Line 370: / Line 370: @@
 Gilgit
 == For many Pakistanis, the CPEC is a one-way street==
-[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/for-pakistanis-china-friendship-road-runs-one-way/articleshow/59879629.cms    Reuters |For Pakistanis, China 'friendship' road runs one way| Aug 2, 2017]
+[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/for-pakistanis-china-friendship-road-runs-one-way/articleshow/59879629.cms    Reuters |For Pakistanis, China 'friendship' road runs one way ''The Times of India''| Aug 2, 2017]
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 The exercises are held up to four times a day. Stores are closed for several days if they do not participate.
 = A transit, economic or development corridor: A Spanish- Pakistani study=

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:26, 2 August 2017
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	TASHKURGAN (Tashkurgan is the headquarter of the Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang, China.): The China-Pakistan Friendship Highway+ runs over 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) from the far western Chinese city of Kashgar through the world's highest mountain pass and across the border.		TASHKURGAN (Tashkurgan is the headquarter of the Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang, China.): The China-Pakistan Friendship Highway+ runs over 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) from the far western Chinese city of Kashgar through the world's highest mountain pass and across the border.
		+
		+	[[File: The China-Pakistan Friendship Highway before the Karakorum mountain range near Tashkurgan in China's western Xinjiang province.jpg\| The China-Pakistan Friendship Highway before the Karakorum mountain range near Tashkurgan in China's western Xinjiang province. <br/> AFP\|frame\|500px]]

	For China, the two-lane thoroughfare symbolises a blossoming partnership, nourished with tens of billions of dollars of infrastructure investment.		For China, the two-lane thoroughfare symbolises a blossoming partnership, nourished with tens of billions of dollars of infrastructure investment.

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:07, 2 August 2017
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	12 Gilgit		12 Gilgit
		+	== For many Pakistanis, the CPEC is a one-way street==
		+	[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/for-pakistanis-china-friendship-road-runs-one-way/articleshow/59879629.cms Reuters \|For Pakistanis, China 'friendship' road runs one way\| Aug 2, 2017]
		+
		+
		+	HIGHLIGHTS
		+
		+	For many Pakistani businessmen, the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway is just a one-way street.
		+
		+	"There is no benefit for Pakistan. It's all about expanding China's growth," said a businessman.
		+
		+	While both countries say the project is mutually beneficial, data shows a different story.
		+
		+
		+
		+	TASHKURGAN (Tashkurgan is the headquarter of the Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang, China.): The China-Pakistan Friendship Highway+ runs over 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) from the far western Chinese city of Kashgar through the world's highest mountain pass and across the border.
		+
		+	For China, the two-lane thoroughfare symbolises a blossoming partnership, nourished with tens of billions of dollars of infrastructure investment.
		+
		+	But for many Pakistani businessmen living and working on the Chinese side of the border, the road is a one way street.
		+
		+	"China says our friendship is as high as the Himalayas and as deep as the sea, but it has no heart," said Pakistani businessman Murad Shah, as he tended his shop in Tashkurgan, 120 kilometres from the mountain pass where trucks line up to cross+ between China's vast Xinjiang region and Pakistan.
		+
		+	"There is no benefit for Pakistan. It's all about expanding China's growth," Shah said, as he straightened a display of precious stones.
		+
		+	The remote town of around 9,000 is at the geographic heart of Beijing's plans to build a major trade artery — the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — connecting Kashgar to the Arabian Sea port of Gwadar.
		+
		+	The project is a crown jewel of China's One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative+ , a massive global infrastructure programme to revive the ancient Silk Road and connect Chinese companies to new markets around the world.
		+
		+	In 2013, Beijing and Islamabad signed agreements worth $46 billion to build transport and energy infrastructure along the corridor, and China has upgraded the treacherous mountain road better known as the Karakoram Highway.
		+
		+	While both countries say the project is mutually beneficial, data shows a different story.
		+
		+	Pakistan's exports to China fell by almost eight percent in the second half of 2016, while imports jumped by almost 29 percent.
		+
		+	In May, Pakistan accused China of flooding its market with cut rate steel and threatened to respond with high tariffs.
		+
		+	"There are all of these hopes and dreams about Pakistan exports," said Jonathan Hillman, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
		+
		+	"But if you're connecting with China, what are you going to be exporting?"
		+
		+	One answer is Nigerian "male enhancement" supplements: expired medications which Pakistani merchants in the oasis city of Hotan recently peddled to bearded Muslims walking home from Friday prayers.
		+
		+	The products were typical of the kinds of small consumer goods brought by Pakistani traders into Xinjiang: medicine, toiletries, semi-precious stones, rugs and handicrafts.
		+
		+	Pakistani businessmen in Xinjiang see few benefits from CPEC, complaining of intrusive security and capricious customs arrangements.
		+
		+	"If you bring anything from China, no problem," said Muhammad, a trader in the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar, who declined to give his full name.
		+
		+	But he said tariffs on imported Pakistani goods are "not declared. Today it's five percent, tomorrow maybe 20. Sometimes, they just say this is not allowed".
		+
		+	Three years ago, Shah was charged between eight and 15 yuan per kilo to bring lapis lazuli, a blue stone. The duty has since soared to 50 yuan per kilo, he said.
		+
		+	Customs officials said the "elements influencing prices were too many" for them to offer a "definite and detailed list" of costs.
		+
		+	While large-scale importers can absorb the tariffs, independent Pakistani traders have benefited little from CPEC, said Hasan Karrar, political economy professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.
		+
		+	Alessandro Ripa, an expert on Chinese infrastructure projects at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, said the highway "is not very relevant to overall trade" because "the sea route is just cheaper and faster".
		+
		+	The project is better understood as a tool for China to promote its geopolitical interests and help struggling state-owned companies export excess production, he said.
		+
		+	Traders also face overbearing security in China.
		+
		+	Over the last year, Beijing has flooded Xinjiang, which has a large Muslim population, with tens of thousands of security personnel and imposed draconian rules to eliminate "extremism".
		+
		+	Businessmen complain they are not allowed to worship at local mosques, while shops can be closed for up to a year for importing merchandise with Arabic script.
		+
		+	In June, on the 300 kilometre trip between Kashgar and Tashkurgan, drivers were stopped at six police checkpoints, while their passengers had to walk through metal detectors and show identification cards. Signs warn that officials can check mobile phones for "illegal" religious content.
		+
		+	Police officers interrupted an interview in Tashkurgan to demand a shopkeeper hand over his smartphone and computer for inspection, an event he said occurs several times a week.
		+
		+	Shah said that when he first arrived in the town, the intrusive security made him nervous: "But now I'm used to it. I almost feel like I'm one of the police."
		+
		+	As he spoke, an alarm sounded. He grabbed a crude spear, body armour and a black helmet off his counter and rushed into the street, where police had assembled over a dozen people for impromptu counter-terrorism drills.
		+
		+	The exercises are held up to four times a day. Stores are closed for several days if they do not participate.

	= A transit, economic or development corridor: A Spanish- Pakistani study=		= A transit, economic or development corridor: A Spanish- Pakistani study=

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 Then it talks about trade. “We will actively embark on cultivating surrounding countries in order to improve import and export potential of Pakistani agricultural products and accelerate the trade of agricultural products. In the early stages, we will gradually create a favorable industry image and reputation for Pakistan by relying on domestic demand.”
-[[File: Pakistani rupees buy Chinese goods1.jpg| Pakistani rupees buy Chinese goods This illustration by Sana Nasir for '' Herald '' was reproduced by [https://www.dawn.com/news/1333101 Dawn] because it echoes the average Pakistani’s view of what will happen to Pakistan’s economy after the CPEC |frame|500px]]
+[[File: Pakistani rupees buy Chinese goods2.jpg| Pakistani rupees buy Chinese goods This illustration by Sana Nasir for '' Herald '' was reproduced by [https://www.dawn.com/news/1333101 Dawn] because it echoes the average Pakistani’s view of what will happen to Pakistan’s economy after the CPEC |frame|500px]]
 In places the plan appears to be addressing investors in China. It says Chinese enterprises should seek “coordinated cooperation with Pakistani enterprises” and “maintain orderly competition and mutual coordination.” It advises them to make an effort “seeking for powerful strategic partners for bundling interest in Pakistan.”

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 '''Details from original documents laying out the CPEC long term plan are publicly disclosed for the first time. '''
-[[File: Chinese troops march as they take part in Pakistan Day military parade.jpg| Chinese troops march as they take part in Pakistan Day military parade in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 23, 2017.  <br/> Photo: by REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood, published in [https://www.dawn.com/news/1333101 Dawn’s] scoop about the CPEC (reproduced here). The photo was used abviously to echo the average Pakistani’s fears. |frame|500px]]
+[[File: Chinese troops march as they take part in Pakistan Day military parade.jpg| Chinese troops march as they take part in Pakistan Day military parade in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 23, 2017.  <br/> Photo: by REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood, published with [https://www.dawn.com/news/1333101 Dawn’s] scoop about the CPEC (reproduced here). The photo was used abviously to echo the average Pakistani’s fears. |frame|500px]]
 The LTP was begun in November 2013 (see detailed timeline in previous tab), when the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the Government of China asked the China Development Bank (CDB) to compile a detailed roadmap to guide the engagement with Pakistan that had begun in May of that same year. For the next two years, till December 2015, the CDB worked with teams from the NDRC, as well the ministries of Transport, National Energy Administration and China Tourism Planning Institute to develop a detailed plan to be implemented over the next 15 years, till the year 2030, that will open the doors for Chinese enterprises – private and public – to enter every area of Pakistan’s economy.

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 Chinese expert teams made multiple visits to Pakistan and Xinjiang during this period, drawing up a detailed picture of the situation in every area, prioritizing those that will come first, and identifying “hidden dangers”, bottlenecks and risks that should be anticipated along the way.
 The report was first transmitted to the Government of Pakistan in June 2015, where it gathered dust for a few months. Under prodding from the Chinese government, a team from Pakistan met their counterparts in Beijing on November 12th, 2015 and gave their feedback. A “special bilateral meeting” was held on Dec 2nd, and the plan finalized on Dec 29th. It was then agreed by both sides that final signatures of the highest authorities, in Pakistan’s case the Prime Minister, would be obtained by March 31st. That deadline was missed, and the signatures are expected to be placed now that the PM is in Beijing.
 In the meantime, a small formality asserted itself. For the plan to be finalized, the assent of the provincial governments was required. For that purpose, a second draft was prepared that could be shared with the provincial authorities. That draft is 31 pages long and significantly watered down with all details removed, containing only broad brushstroke descriptions of the “areas of cooperation” that both countries have identified.
 The original plan drawn up by the CDB is 231 pages long, and is an astonishingly detailed roadmap of the pitfalls and opportunities that Chinese enterprises can expect as they venture into every area of the economy and society. It contains specifics of what is going to be built by the Chinese over the next decade and a half, and its detailed description of Pakistan’s economy and its attendant risks shows clearly that the Chinese are fully aware of what they are getting involved in.

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 The LTP was begun in November 2013 (see detailed timeline in previous tab), when the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the Government of China asked the China Development Bank (CDB) to compile a detailed roadmap to guide the engagement with Pakistan that had begun in May of that same year. For the next two years, till December 2015, the CDB worked with teams from the NDRC, as well the ministries of Transport, National Energy Administration and China Tourism Planning Institute to develop a detailed plan to be implemented over the next 15 years, till the year 2030, that will open the doors for Chinese enterprises – private and public – to enter every area of Pakistan’s economy.
-[[File: Chinese troops march as they take part in Pakistan Day military parade.jpg| Chinese troops march as they take part in Pakistan Day military parade  <br/> Photo: AFP, published in [https://www.dawn.com/news/1333101 Dawn’s] scoop of the CPEC (reproduced on this page), echoing the average Pakistani’s fears. |frame|500px]]
+[[File: Chinese troops march as they take part in Pakistan Day military parade.jpg| Chinese troops march as they take part in Pakistan Day military parade in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 23, 2017.  <br/> Photo: by REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood, published in [https://www.dawn.com/news/1333101 Dawn’s] scoop of the CPEC (reproduced on this page), echoing the average Pakistani’s fears. |frame|500px]]
 Chinese expert teams made multiple visits to Pakistan and Xinjiang during this period, drawing up a detailed picture of the situation in every area, prioritizing those that will come first, and identifying “hidden dangers”, bottlenecks and risks that should be anticipated along the way.