Pakistan to become a trade and energy corridor for China and landlocked Central Asia

Just read this article and wondering what you all think about it. It seems that the relationship between China and Pakistan is strengthening day by day and the two countries clearly have plans to cooperate in further integrating their economies. Initially with the signing and initiation of the Early Harvest Program I & Early Harvest Program II that started this year from January 1, 2006. What will this move mean for the Pakistani economy?

article link:


Karakoram Highway’s Gwadar link likely

By Safdar Khan

GILGIT, July 4: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said that the Karakoram Highway will be linked to the southern Gwadar port in Balochistan. He was addressing a ceremony marking the inauguration of a dry port in the border town of Sust, 200km north of Gilgit, on Tuesday.

The dry port, a Pakistan-China joint venture, was built in 2,004 at a cost of Rs90m to streamline border trade between the two countries.

The president said that a rail link between Pakistan and China would be another landmark in the Pakistan-China friendship.

He said that an oil pipeline from the Middle East to western China would be laid via Balochistan and a gas pipeline from Central Asia to Pakistan through the Northern Areas was also under consideration.

Earlier, Northern Areas Deputy Chief Executive and Chairman of the dry port Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan said that tax on border trade should be withdrawn and three per cent of the income of the dry port should be spent on development of the area.

He also demanded withdrawal of development cess levied on goods import by the NWFP government in the name of the Kohistan Development Fund.

Federal ministers Nilofer Bakhtiar, Amanullah Jadoon, Sher Afgan Niazi and Dr Gulab Jamal, adviser to the prime minister on economic affairs Salman Shah, Pakistan Muslim League president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and General Secretary Mushahid Hussain attended the ceremony.

APP adds: The president said that the dry port would bolster commerce with China to new levels and help in realising Pakistan’s potential as the hub of regional trade.

“This landmark project is poised to give further depth and strength to Pakistan-China economic and political ties and help expand Pakistan’s commercial linkages with the regional countries, including Central Asia states”, he said.

President Musharraf spoke of Pakistan’s central geo-strategic location at the heart of the regions, which includes western China, Central Asian states, Afghanistan, Iran, India and the oil-rich Gulf, and envisioned a pivotal role for Pakistan in augmenting trade among them.

“Such is Pakistan’s geo-strategic strength. It would play a vital role in promoting trade among the members of major regional groupings, including Saarc, Economic Cooperation Organisation and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Trade interaction among the region’s countries has to take place through Pakistan.”

Dwelling on the importance of the 10,000-foot high Sust Dry Port, he said the state-of-the-art facility, an elaborate network of infrastructure being put in place across Pakistan and improvement in Karakoram Highway would provide China the shortest access to the Middle East and other world markets through Pakistani deep sea ports, including Gwadar.

Pakistan, he said, would become a trade and energy corridor for China and landlocked Central Asian countries.

“We are talking of Pakistan-China inter-connectivity in terms of energy and trade, improvement in the highway, development of railway link and gas and oil pipeline linkages and even fibre optic connectivity along the highway under one project.”

The president said the highway had been hailed as the eighth wonder of the world and added: “We are capable of creating ninth and 10th wonders in the form of railway and (oil/gas) pipeline linkages between Pakistan and China.”

He also referred to the strengthening of quadrilateral arrangement between Pakistan, China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Looks like China's little brother is Pakistan now, and the youngest is North Korea.

Re: Pakistan to become a trade and energy corridor for China and landlocked Central A

LiLaZnMaGiCsCt said:

Looks like China's little brother is Pakistan now, and the youngest is North Korea.

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LilaZn constructive criticism is appreciated, bitchy comments only serve
to lower the tone.

If you are unhappy about the situation please explain why and what should
be done.

I think these needs considering in context. There are many current projects improving the communications infrastructure in the Centre of Asia.

Today China and India re-opened the NATHU LA PASS border crossing into Tibet. Within a few years, an extension of the just commissioned Qingdao - Lahasa railway will be extended to China's side of the Pass.

Roads, Rail and Pipelines are pushing through Western China and into Central Asia. Most of this is being done; it appears, under the SCO banner.

SO my advice is to consider the implications of all these current and planned developments and to try and guage their consolidated impact.

Re: Pakistan to become a trade and energy corridor for China and landlocked Central A

The crux of the entire Chinese foreign policy is, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".
China always needs, what is termed in layman-speak as, "sidekicks", as a means of countering its potential rivals.

Thus, to counter Japan and the US, it supports North Korea, and to counter India, it assists Pakistan. In fact, "nurtures" is the appropriate word that may be used in this context.
It also politically supports Iran's nuclear program and provides weapons to it. Its proliferation of ballistic and nuclear missile technologies to N.Korea and Pakistan clearly explain its foreign policy.

This is not to belittle the Chinese people, but unfortunately (for India, US and Japan), this is the policy that is followed by its government.

Re: Pakistan to become a trade and energy corridor for China and landlocked Central A

Indianfighter said:

The crux of the entire Chinese foreign policy is, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".
China always needs, what is termed in layman-speak as, "sidekicks", as a means of countering its potential rivals.

Thus, to counter Japan and the US, it supports North Korea, and to counter India, it assists Pakistan. In fact, "nurtures" is the appropriate word that may be used in this context.
It also politically supports Iran's nuclear program and provides weapons to it. Its proliferation of ballistic and nuclear missile technologies to N.Korea and Pakistan clearly explain its foreign policy.

This is not to belittle the Chinese people, but unfortunately (for India, US and Japan), this is the policy that is followed by its government.

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IndianFighter I think that's overtly simplistic and India-centric.

On that basis it would appear that China has no other concern than preventing an Indian invasion. Do you think that's even feasible ?

China's foreign policy is driven by three considerations

1. Increasing allies and decreasing enemies
2. Improving it's economy hence it's quest for energy resources
3. and improving it's security by means of the above and also
militarily

Now Pakistan's considerations are the same as the above however
China has certain economic and military advantages and likewise
Pakistan has cultural and historic links which have been advantageous
to China in the past and are going to be more so in the future.

THe purpose of the energy corridor will benefit the two countries immensly as well as help jump-start the economic revival of the entire region. I think Indianfighter has an only indian-centric view on things which is quite unfortunate and sad. The relations between Pakistan and China extend beyond military and economical ones. On my last trip to Chinese Pakistan border(Gilgit) I felt a strong sense of comraderie with the Chinese border guards and with Chinese I have met abroad. Its not something I can express in mere words but rather as a 'feeling'. There is a mutual and shared respect between both our peoples which extends back before the 1960's when relations really strengthened btw the two countries. Ironically, one of the most prominent historians to have visited and discovered ancient Pakistan was a chinese named Hsung Tien who has given us insights into the unique culture and Identity of Indus Valley peoples and furthermore our two countries have had direct trade and cultural relations since the Silk Route Days. Since the 60's, Chinese have been actively settling in Pakistan and u can find a huge diaspora living in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, many often intermarrying and adopting local dress & languages and same of Pakistanis going to china, further strenghtening this bond. This article, IMO, is only a modern rendition of the growing ties between these two neighboors. The comparison with North Korea is unfounded.

Finn McCool said:

If Pakistan is driven to China, India will drift towards the United States. That's all I gotta say.

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If India drifts to the US, then Russia will drift to China. And besides, what with India's history of being colonized by western imperial powers, India is not likely to allow themselves to be cannon fodder for western hegemonism again. It shocks me how many Americans (not referring to you) think people in developing countries are ready to lay down their lives for the cause of western supremacy.

Of course, India will happily take what America gives. Nobody has any qualms with that at all.

Roger604 said:

If India drifts to the US, then Russia will drift to China.

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Russia is trying to make itself a true global power again, not a compliment to a superpower like Britain is. When I say a true global power, I mean it has it's own sphere of influence and excercises its own hegemony over other nations, rather than being part of a Chinese "world camp". That, really, is all that Russia has ever wanted (with the exception of some communist notions of uniting the world under the rule of the proletariat). Russia wants to have an Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia free of enemy influences, for example the US in Afghanistan and the EU enlarging itself. Russia wants to make itself it's own power again, and have its own sphere of influence. It has made itself so close to China in recent years because it is profitable, and because having an alliance with China is an aspect of carving out a place for itself in the world. How you ask? One of the ways that Russia carves out a place for itself in the world is by differentiating itself from and confrinting the US. Look at the build-up to the Iraq War in the UN. Russia is acting as China's elder patron and benefactor, as opposed to the US, which treats China as a coming rival.

I predict that the Russia, under the forceful leadership of Putin and high gas prices, will succed to become a power once again. Like Roger has often said, the world is becoming multi-lateral once again, for the first time since before WWI. So Russia and China will probably have similar interests in the future causing them to be erstwhile allies, but it would be wrong to say that Russia will "drift to China" and fall into China's orbit. Russia is to large and proud a nation for that.

Re: Pakistan to become a trade and energy corridor for China and landlocked Central A

Finn McCool said:

Russia is trying to make itself a true global power again, not a compliment to a superpower like Britain is. When I say a true global power, I mean it has it's own sphere of influence and excercises its own hegemony over other nations, rather than being part of a Chinese "world camp". That, really, is all that Russia has ever wanted (with the exception of some communist notions of uniting the world under the rule of the proletariat). Russia wants to have an Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia free of enemy influences, for example the US in Afghanistan and the EU enlarging itself. Russia wants to make itself it's own power again, and have its own sphere of influence. It has made itself so close to China in recent years because it is profitable, and because having an alliance with China is an aspect of carving out a place for itself in the world. How you ask? One of the ways that Russia carves out a place for itself in the world is by differentiating itself from and confrinting the US. Look at the build-up to the Iraq War in the UN. Russia is acting as China's elder patron and benefactor, as opposed to the US, which treats China as a coming rival.

I predict that the Russia, under the forceful leadership of Putin and high gas prices, will succed to become a power once again. Like Roger has often said, the world is becoming multi-lateral once again, for the first time since before WWI. So Russia and China will probably have similar interests in the future causing them to be erstwhile allies, but it would be wrong to say that Russia will "drift to China" and fall into China's orbit. Russia is to large and proud a nation for that.

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As Finn's words are taken note of, India will not "drift" to US as Finn predicted as well. I believe (Indiafighter may have the same opinion) that India sees itself a rising global power as well. Following the same token suggested by Finn, India will not drift to US since as a global power a country could not stand being the subject of the other.

All these reminds me of the warring state period of ancient china. However, it's on a much bigger scale.