CHINA PAKISTAN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR (CPEC) REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

Chinese one belt one road is a huge project which will integrate Asia, Europe, and Africa through roads and maritime routes. Sixty-seven countries are the subject of this project. Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project were announced by the Chinese president Xi Jinping in Kazakhstan in September 2013. After one month Xi Jinping purposed the Maritime Silk route project which would connect China with South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe via sea route. Initially, this project was proposed as the ‘New Silk Road’ but was changed with ‘One Belt One Road’ (OBOR) and after 2017, it was named as “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) (Chan, 2019). It comprises two components, first land route is the old Silk Road from China to Europe via Central Asia and the Middle East. The second route contains the maritime Silk Route, which begins from East Asia to South Asia via Gwadar connects Africa and the Middle and reaches from Suez Canal to Europe. One belt One Road will connect 67 countries to enhance economic integration between Asia, Europe, and Africa (Miller, 2017). China has purposed six corridors under one belt and one road. Following are the six corridors: Central-China and West-Asia Economic Corridor (CCWAC), China Peninsula Economic Corridor (CICPEC), China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor (CMREC), New Eurasian Land Bridge (NELB), Bangladesh China India Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIMEC), and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) (Amir, 2016). Jonathan E. Hillman (2018) director of Reconnecting Asia Project estimated that the investment of this project is from 1 trillion to 8 trillion US dollars (Hillman, 2018). It is said after the US Marshal Plan, it is the biggest plan in the world and it would increase Chinese influence in the world.