China-Pakistan Economic Corridor-Current Developments and Future Prospect for Regional Integration

Abstract

Global economic landscape has been changed in modern era and the main derivers of this change are; trade liberalization, technology, freer capital movements between countries, advancement in communication and transport infrastructure, advancement in cross border supply chain system etc. China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) is one of the initiatives of structural change in the world for reducing distance and trade cost among countries. Although china and Pakistan have strong geo-political and strategic relations over the decades but the visit of china’s president Mr. Xi Jingping to Pakistan in April 2015 with a bulk of investment in the shape of CPEC has further tightened the geo-economic relations between two countries. The main projects included in CPEC are related to; energy, infrastructure development, communication, industrial development and construction of Gawadar port. No doubt this win-win mega investment project will be prolific for both countries. Moreover, CPEC is not only the bilateral investment project between china and Pakistan but it will be “game changer” for the region as well as for the globe. The aim of this paper is to observe the current developments of China-Pakistan economic corridor and its potential role in regional integration and prosperity.

Keywords: Developments of CPEC; Investment Agreements; Regional Integration