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Can China turn Pakistan into the new Asian tiger?

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Anshuman Tiwari
Anshuman TiwariMay 14, 2015 | 14:09

Can China turn Pakistan into the new Asian tiger?

How much is $ 46 billion worth? If this question is connected to Pakistan, the number amounts to 20 per cent of the country’s GDP. This is the quantum of investment China is going to shower on Pakistan under the agreements signed between the two nations during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Islamabad. It is not difficult to grasp that China has not only embraced Pakistan’s beleaguered economy through the enormous infrastructure project of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, but has also tuned into new diplomatic equations in South Asia.  

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomatic determination is praiseworthy, but before his global voyages could yield tangibles, the strategic landscape in South Asia has become exceptionally exigent. Ahead of his meetings with the Chinese leadership, Modi will have to decide how India would adjust itself with this new ChiPak (China-Pak) phenomenon in the years to come.  

“We in Pakistan feel proud of aligning ourselves with the new Chinese vision for regional connectivity and shared economic prosperity purported to be realized through revival of the old silk route and the building of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),” writes Nawaz Sharif’s in the Xinuha oped, which appeared just a day before Modi’s arrival at Beijing. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the first project of its kind in South Asia under which two countries will be sharing their economic sovereignty. A 3,000km corridor will place a massive network of expressways, railways, energy pipelines and industrial parks to connect north-western Chinese city of Kashgar on the Karakoram highway to Pakistan’s southern post Gwadar passing through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Gwadar will be developed as a free-trade zone akin to Hong Kong. Metro rail projects in Lahore, Multan, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi are also part of this corridor. The CPEC will be implemented by consortium of leading Sino Public sector behemoths, including Three Georges Corp, China Power International, Huaneng Group and ICBC Corp. The project will be backed by the financial muscle of Industrial and Commercial bank of China.

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 The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline is also getting China’s patronage. The 560-mile Iranian section of the pipeline is almost ready. China has agreed to bear 85 per cent of the cost of 485mile stretch of pipeline proposed to be laid from Baluchistan border to Gwadar port. This pipeline may help Pakistan in creating power capacity of 4,500 megawatt, just enough to wipe out Pakistan’s entire shortage of power eventually.   

Nawaz Sharif may not have found it difficult to hand over the political and strategic future of the country into Chinese hands because of diverse reasons. By connecting Pakistan’s fortunes to China, Sharif has achieved a lot.  Despite 60 years of relationship with America, Pakistan has never received such a massive economic boost from Washington. The Pakistani economy has almost collapsed with complete drying up of investment and depletion of foreign aid. China is well known for its fast track construction. The entire corridor is aimed to be completed in the next 15 years, while the Iran-Pakistan pipeline will be operational by 2017. If everything goes as per schedule, within the next few months, fast-paced construction will begin in Pakistan. This will quicken the pace of the economy and provide much needed political strength to Nawaz Sharif. Friendship with China can help him curb terrorism and also diminish the influence of the armed forces. Besides, the Pakistan army is raising special security force with nine battalions and six wings of paramilitary forces to just guard China-Pak projects.

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On the other hand, China is the only nation on globe that could muster the courage to invest in a nation described as a terror factory and ruled by the army in proxy. The mineral wealth of Afghanistan, Iran and West Asia is the new target of China’s economic ambitions as Russian and American interests in the region wane. Chinese investment in Pakistan will limit India’s strategic influence in South Asia and would pave the way for China’s access to Afghanistan and West Asia.  

Xi Jinping's Pakistan visit was deferred because the breakthrough both were preparing for had to be a monumental one. Before handing over its economic future to China, Pakistan had to gather the courage to distance itself from America, while China had to satisfy itself about the strategy to enter the world’s most risk-prone country. Everything went according to plan and with the signatures of Xi and Sharif on the agreement, the chessboard of South Asia diplomacy altered radically. Against the backdrop of Sino-Pak pact, India should prepare itself to meet a new Pakistan and learn to live with hectic activities of Chinese companies only a few hundred kilometres away from its borders in Pak-occupied Kashmir region.

Xi Jinping’s catchphrases are not new to global diplomacy, but it was exceptional on his part to refer Pakistan as an Asian Tiger of the future in The Daily Times oped, which appeared before his visit to Islamabad. Whether Pakistan will become a tiger with Chinese friendship is too early to gauge, however, with the infusion of Chinese DNA, its growl and gait will definitely be louder now.

Last updated: May 14, 2015 | 14:09
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