Master's Thesis from the year 2016 in the subject Politics - Region: South Asia, grade: 1.65, University of Erfurt (Willy Brandt School), language: English, abstract: In recent times, Chinese foreign policy has transformed considerably and it is apparent that China now aims to reinvent its global image and also step-up its clout and impact at the international level. It also aims to give rise to an economic order that serves Chinese interests, something that China cannot expect from the largely Western-dominated institutions. The establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was a decisive step in this direction. In a broader sense, this can be related to China’s ambitious "One Belt One Road" (OBOR) initiative which envisages the revival of the erstwhile Silk Road through two major projects- A Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. In April 2015, President Xi Jinping announced 46-billion-dollar investment plans in Pakistan in the shape of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which will connect the Chinese city of Kashgar to the strategically located Gwadar Port in Pakistan. This was conceived as a part of the OBOR initiative. Although a daunting undertaking, the successful completion of this project would result in unparalleled economic and strategic gains for both the parties involved. Also, the increased cooperation between these two neighbors engenders major ramifications for the foreign relations of both the countries. This thesis attempts to take a closer look at the CPEC and expound the strategic implications of the project for both China and Pakistan.

China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one of the corridors of China's Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) which China first proposed in 2013. It is 21st Century version of the Ancient Silk Road with an aim to connect China with the rest of the world through road and maritime trade routes. Similarly, the planned outlook of CPEC manifests linkages with Central Asia, Africa and Europe. It comprises of roads, railway transportation networks, energy power plants, a port and special economic zones development, and cross border optical fibre cable installation (Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform, 2017). Given the history of mutual trust between the two countries, CPEC was approved in April 2015 without any resistance from either sides. While it serves China as a gateway to other regions, for Pakistan it has multi-fold relevance which is the main research theme of this dissertation. This research analyzes CPEC's economic implications for Pakistan and strategic implications for both Pakistan and China. While around 147 countries signed the BRI, the response has not been warm from all countries. While some consider it a part of China's strategic plan to gain dominion that will result into a new world order, others like India, are more concerned about regional hegemony. There is an on-going economic crisis that started with COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and it got worse due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It will not be absurd to state that the biggest blow came in the form of energy supply shortages. This crisis serves as a reminder of how important it is to secure energy supply. However, China foresaw this looming crisis and this is one of the motivations behind BRI in general and CPEC in particular. If succeeded, CPEC will present China with a new trade route for its energy supply which currently goes through the Strait of Malacca. Furthermore, this research undertakes an in-depth analysis of several economic implications of CPEC; namely, how infrastructure investment may or may not alter the economic growth trajectory of a country and the role of redesigned supply chain and logistics in boosting local industry. Last but not the least, the much contentious topic of debt-trap is also discussed. The study relies on both quantitative and qualitative research methods depending on the nature of the designed research questions.

China’s economic surge into Pakistan comes at a time of heightened stakes in South Asia. Pakistan is in a deteriorating stalemate with its existential foe India, which has far greater conventional military and economic capabilities. Yet India faces a widening conventional arms deficit with China, whose economy has grown for nearly four decades far faster than India’s has. With an eye toward fostering potential like-minded partners in a new era of great power competition, the United States has attempted to build a stronger partnership with India. At the same time, Washington continues to rely on Islamabad for access to Afghanistan. China’s position remains flexible in the region, pursuing expansive trade and economic relations with India, embarking on growing investments in Pakistan through CPEC and across the broader region, while also investing in enhanced military capabilities that will eventually enable China to act on its growing ambitions in the Indian Ocean region. China’s economic surge into Pakistan is an opportunity to test the proposition of whether Beijing can translate its growing wealth into growing political authority and security influence in the region.

Bringing together a collection of interdisciplinary chapters on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this book offers a comprehensive overview of the topic from a business and management perspective. With a focus on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Volume II provides theoretical and empirical analyses of the opportunities and challenges facing businesses. With contributions covering economics, agriculture, energy, value chain, ethics, governance, and security, this collection is a useful tool for academics as well as policy-makers and practitioners in China, Pakistan, and other countries along the new Silk Road.

Development of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor is a fulcrum of the One Belt One Road Initiative through which China seeks to realise the ‘Chinese Dream’ to be a global power and a regional hegemon. The Corridor connects China’s Western Xinjiang with Pakistan’s Makran Coast, traversing through one of the most challenging geographic as well as human terrain that would require extra-ordinary engineering resources to execute, massive amounts to fund and extreme political acumen to manage the untameable societal fissures. That indeed is a tall and complex order. The Corridor brings up a host of strategic adversities to India. While pumping-up Pakistan’s innate anti-Indian dogma and China’s compulsive India-averseness, the Corridor violates India’s sovereignty, even if disputed, over the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, and consolidates the duo’s political nexus with conjoined military capabilities against India. India’s problems are further exacerbated when the Initiative consolidates Pakistan’s illegal occupation of North-Western Kashmir and inter alia seals the severance of India’s traditional land connectivity’s with Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics. This Book, besides describing the plans and challenges of construction and gainful management thereafter, highlights that since China believes in crystallising its ‘dream’ with the backing of political, and by implication, military power, it is obvious that the Initiative would have more than just purely economic consequences.

There has been a great deal of speculation and prognostication about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The project’s name suggests it is intended to be an ‘economic corridor’ connecting Pakistan overland with China’s Xinjiang province. This book examines whether CPEC’s primary purpose is as an overland conduit for trade and economic cooperation between China and Pakistan. The key finding is that aims related to regional geopolitics and internal security have, in reality, a more significant impact. The book demonstrates that China’s goals in Pakistan are primarily geopolitical rather than geo-economic, since the notion of constructing an economic and transportation ‘corridor’ between Pakistan and China is logistically and economically problematic due to a range of foreseeable problems. Most importantly, border disputes with India and the containment of domestic separatism motivate are the driving forces for cooperation between the partners. This book will be of interest to scholars who research the BRI, as well as policy makers.

The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a flagship program of China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative, created to boost economic cooperation between China and Pakistan with significant political and economic implications in the region. This book looks at critical issues when developing capabilities of cross-cultural management, adaptation and adjustment through cross-cultural understanding and network building from the CPEC case study. The book highlights the importance of acculturation experience, cross-cultural networking, networking behaviour (guanxi vs. hawala), and factors influencing cross-cultural adjustment, which would enhance the overall performance of ‘One Belt One Road’ projects in general. It looks at how the Chinese and Pakistani employees' national cultures affect their behaviour while working on the CPEC projects. The book offers insights into what cross-cultural adjustments are effective in creating improved individual and organizational performance. In an increasingly globalized world in which the practice of working with people from multiple cultural background is more of a norm, this book will be a useful reference for those who are interested to achieve success in multi-cultural settings.