CPEC 2.0 now a productive partnership

Pakistan and China share a relationship that rests on mutual trust, respect for each other's core interests and a shared conviction that development and cooperation are foundations for peace and prosperity. Our "all-weather strategic cooperative partnership" occupies a special place not only in the foreign policies of our countries, but also in the hearts of our peoples.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is the most visible economic expression of this relationship and an important pioneering project of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. Over the past decade, CPEC has translated strategic trust into power plants, transmission lines, highways, ports, jobs and economic connectivity. It has demonstrated that the Pakistan-China friendship is a partnership capable of delivering tangible development.

Having been associated with CPEC since its inception in 2013, my most important lesson is simple: CPEC's strength does not lie in any single project. It lies in the ability of Pakistan and China to think long term, align their complementary strengths and find practical solutions together in the spirit of iron brotherhood.

CPEC is now entering a more ambitious phase. CPEC 2.0 marks a transition from infrastructure development to industrial partnership; from predominantly government-led projects to business-to-business cooperation; and from bilateral connectivity to regional and global value chains.

CPEC 2.0 does not begin from zero. Its first phase delivered substantial gains. Forty-three projects worth approximately $25 billion have been completed. Seventeen energy projects added around 8,900 megawatts to Pakistan's power-generation capacity, alongside two coal mines and the landmark Matiari-Lahore high-voltage transmission line. Major transport projects improved connectivity, while approximately 200,000 direct jobs were created for Pakistan.

For a country facing severe electricity shortages and infrastructure deficits in 2013, China came forward as a true friend. Electricity enabled factories to operate and transport links opened new possibilities for investment.

The defining feature of the new phase is the fusion of CPEC 2.0 with URAAN Pakistan, or Rise Pakistan, our national transformation framework whose priorities align naturally with CPEC's five corridors of growth, innovation, green development, livelihoods, and openness and regional connectivity.

CPEC 2.0 provides an international partnership platform for accelerating URAAN Pakistan, while URAAN gives CPEC projects a clear national development purpose. Together, these frameworks will add the software of skills, enterprise, innovation and efficient institutions.

Industrialization is the central economic engine of CPEC 2.0. Pakistan offers Chinese enterprises a large market, a young labor force, natural resources and access to the Arabian Sea. It can serve as a production and export platform connecting China with South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. As Chinese companies diversify production networks, the Pakistani government is converting strategic location into competitiveness through policy continuity, reliable infrastructure, skills and modern logistics.

China's deeper development lesson is not that Pakistan can replicate a particular model. It is that transformation requires a practical method: experiment intelligently, measure results, remove constraints and scale what works. Pakistan is adapting the principles behind China's industrial transformation: policy consistency, empowered institutions, infrastructure readiness, investment facilitation and technological learning to suit its own realities.

China is a partner and accelerator of Pakistan's industrial upgrading; Pakistan remains the owner of its priorities and an active co-creator of the economic model with China. The important measure is what investment leaves behind: stronger enterprises, deeper supplier networks, skilled engineers and managers, new technologies and higher-value exports.

We are bringing private enterprise to the center of CPEC 2.0. CPEC will become stronger when Chinese companies manufacture profitably in Pakistan and Pakistani producers enter Chinese and global markets.

Under CPEC 2.0, Pakistan-China agricultural cooperation is moving from general exchanges to practical modernization. Pakistan possesses substantial mineral potential, and Chinese enterprises bring extensive technical experience. Together, we can build a responsible and environmentally sustainable mining sector.

CPEC 2.0 is also expanding into data, artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, e-commerce, cybersecurity, digital payments and industrial automation. The digital corridor will complement the physical corridor: together, they will lower transaction costs, broaden market access and allow smaller enterprises to participate in international commerce.

Pakistan is pursuing a deeper AI partnership with China encompassing joint research, computing infrastructure, skills, industrial applications, start-up collaboration and responsible governance. We are connecting both countries' strengths in AI-enabled agriculture, smart manufacturing, mineral exploration, disaster forecasting, telemedicine and digital education. CPEC will thus become a corridor not only for goods, but also for data, technology and digital services.

Physical and digital connectivity must be reinforced by intellectual connectivity. I have therefore proposed a "Pakistan-China Knowledge Corridor" as a central pillar of CPEC 2.0. Infrastructure connects territories; knowledge connects generations.

Through demand-driven training and apprenticeships, we are building a generation able to participate in Chinese, regional and global production and knowledge networks.

Gwadar represents the strategic vision of CPEC 2.0. We are integrating the port and free zone with warehousing, fisheries, processing, efficient customs, reliable utilities, urban services, tourism and local enterprise, and progressing from transit geography to value-creating geography.

Pakistan deeply values the contribution of Chinese professionals who have worked alongside their Pakistani counterparts. Our commitment to protecting Chinese citizens, institutions and projects is unwavering.

My experience in building CPEC has reinforced my conviction that Pakistan-China cooperation succeeds most when strategic vision is matched by sustained implementation. We are combining the strengths of both China and Pakistan to build a more productive, innovative and competitive Pakistan while creating opportunities for Chinese enterprises and contributing to regional prosperity.

By 2047, the strongest legacy of CPEC will be a more capable Pakistan, a country that produces, innovates and exports at a higher level because of its partnership with China.

That is the promise of CPEC 2.0: a strategic economic partnership advancing shared prosperity, regional connectivity and an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future.

The author is Pakistan's federal minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and co-chair of the CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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