Xi's visit to Pakistan will boost Silk Road projects

    Updated: 2015-04-20 04:15

    By Zhao Shengnan in Beijing and Zhao Yanrong in Islamabad (China Daily)

    Comments Print Mail Large Medium Small

    Cooperative agreements will help to link western regions with port on Arabian Sea

    Xi's visit to Pakistan will boost Silk Road projects

    President Xi Jinping arrived in Islamabad on Monday for his first state visit to Pakistan, a long-awaited trip that is expected to yield multibillion-dollar cooperation agreements that mark a key step of the China-championed Silk Road initiatives.

    Agreements, including those on energy and infrastructure cooperation, are expected to particularly bolster construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a planned network connecting Kashgar in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to the southwestern Pakistani port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.

    "The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is located where the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road meet. It is, therefore, a major project of the 'Belt and Road' initiative," Xi said in an article published in Pakistan's Daily Times on Sunday.

    "We need to form a '1+4' cooperation structure with the Economic Corridor at the center, and Gwadar Port, energy, infrastructure and industrial cooperation being the four key areas to drive development across Pakistan and deliver tangible benefits to its people," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

    The visit, the first by a Chinese head of state to Pakistan in nine years, came after China started operating a $40 billion Silk Road fund and recently drew a wave of participants to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

    The Foreign Ministry said last week that a lot of money is needed for the corridor and China is willing to provide financing support to Pakistan.

    Observers said the huge corridor project would be a hub of the "Belt and Road" initiative, a transcontinental network prioritizing connectivity and infrastructure, and would vitalize Pakistan's development and western China's opening-up.

    Masood Khan, director general of the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, said the project is "a watershed" and "a game-changer" not just for Pakistan and China but for their immediate and extended neighborhoods.

    The former Pakistani ambassador to China considered Gwadar port, a "key for the economic hub which we are trying to create in Pakistan" and said "it should have all the necessary infrastructure to handle the shipment of merchandise and services".

    Lu Shulin, former Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, said the port, about 400 kilometers from the Strait of Hormuz, could improve Pakistan's role in the region, and could give access to the sea for neighboring landlocked countries like Afghanistan.

    If the port linked western China with rail it would reduce export costs from China's far-western region, which is remote from ports on China's northern and eastern coastal areas, said Lu, adding it will also diversify shipping lanes for energy exported from the Middle East to China.

    The economic corridor would shorten the route for China's energy imports, bypassing the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia, Reuters reported.

    After Pakistan, Xi will visit Indonesia, also a key stop along the "Belt and Road" initiatives, to attend the Asian-African Summit and activities marking the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference, from Tuesday to Friday.

    Contact the writers through zhao-shengnan@chinadaily.com.cn

    Schedule

    Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Pakistan and attend the Asian-African Summit and activities commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference in Indonesia from April 20 to 24.

    April 22
    Attend the opening ceremony of the Asian-African Summit;
    Meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo;

    April 23
    Bilateral meetings;
    Attend the closing ceremony of the Asian-African Summit;

    April 24
    Historical walk from Savoy Homann Hotel to Gedung Merdeka;
    Attend activities commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference;

    ...
    亚洲AV中文无码乱人伦在线观看| 91中文在线观看| 无码人妻精品一区二区蜜桃网站| 免费a级毛片无码| 亚洲精品中文字幕无码蜜桃| 久久精品中文字幕无码绿巨人 | 三级理论中文字幕在线播放| 无码国产乱人伦偷精品视频| 中文字幕在线免费看线人| 自拍中文精品无码| 国产无码区| yy111111少妇影院里无码| 中文无码伦av中文字幕| 日韩欧美成人免费中文字幕| 2022中文字字幕久亚洲| 亚洲无码黄色网址| 国产精品亚洲αv天堂无码| 久久久久久亚洲AV无码专区| 国产成人无码AⅤ片在线观看| 婷婷综合久久中文字幕| 无码中文字幕乱在线观看| 亚洲人成无码网站久久99热国产| 精品无码专区亚洲| 国产无码一区二区在线| 国产精品无码免费专区午夜| 久久精品无码一区二区无码| 秋霞无码一区二区| 久久久久亚洲AV无码麻豆| 久久久无码一区二区三区| 日韩欧精品无码视频无删节| 亚洲AV无码专区在线播放中文 | 亚洲AV无码一区二区三区性色| 日本中文字幕免费看| 人妻精品久久久久中文字幕 | 日本精品久久久中文字幕 | 日本中文一区二区三区亚洲| 台湾佬中文娱乐中文| 无码av中文一二三区| 我的小后妈中文翻译| 国产成人无码一区二区三区在线 | 性无码免费一区二区三区在线|