CPEC News and Discussions

[SoulSpokesman]

@PAKISTANFOREVER

To be honest, I didn't get a chance to go to Balochistan and see what the situation there was like.

It was just as well. I would humbly advise you to not to go to Balochistan on your future visits to PAK as well.

Regards

 

[Pakistan Space Agency]

Gwadar-Kashi. core trade route of CPEC.
Highways, high-speed railroads, oil and gas pipelines, fiber optic cable projects
All these projects require joint collaboration between China and Pakistan.

Capital and ownership issues.
1. Wholly owned by China? China is fully capable of providing all the capital. However, it involves the issue of ownership and right to use these projects after they are completed. If China wholly owns these projects, it is equivalent to China leasing land to Pakistan, and China pays land lease fees to Pakistan. However, after completion, Pakistan will also need to pay royalties to China if it wants to use the facilities.
2, the two sides jointly invested and share the benefits? These projects are huge investments (for example: the cost of construction costs of Chinese high-speed rail is usually about 100-300 million CNY, and mountainous areas increase by 2-3 times). How much can Pakistan invest in these projects? Share revenue sharing? How will the daily operating costs be billed?

Land Acquisition
The project involves taking up a large amount of land. This can only be handled by the Pakistani government (central and local). I.e., the Government of Pakistan will need to first acquire the land involved as state land and then negotiate with the Chinese government for the use of such land.

Security issues along the route
This is a well known issue and I will not repeat it.

China desperately needs more trade routes. As to who is blocking or delaying these core projects, I think we should be able to analyze the answer.

Are you suggesting China did not plan for the cure projects when it launched CPEC?

China does not care which political party is in power in Pakistan. Our partner is the Pakistani government, not a particular political party in Pakistan. This is the juridical basis.
If the political parties in Pakistan cannot agree on this, party “A” will sign the agreement when it is in power, and party “B” will repudiate it when it is in power. Then the Chinese Government will completely reconsider its foreign policy towards Pakistan. It may completely abandon all major long-term investment projects in favor of short-term cooperation projects. Large infrastructure investment projects may be canceled altogether. Chinese trade routes will be replaced by other routes.
For example: China-Afghanistan-Iran

Borrowing from the case of Southeast Asia mentioned earlier.

The Vietnamese high-speed railroad had a very central place in China's initial planning of trade routes in South-East Asia.
However, due to various factors, the Vietnamese government has delayed any progress on the Vietnam North-South High Speed Railway.
Therefore, the Chinese government started “Plan B”. We accelerated the construction of the high-speed rail line between “China-Laos-Cambodia-Thailand”. When the “China-Laos” high-speed railroad was opened, the economy of Laos took off rapidly. Thailand and Cambodia also accelerated their own plans for this line.
At this time, Vietnam saw the rapid development of Laos and became anxious. However, it seems that they are already a bit late. ......

If we take the lead in launching the “China-Afghanistan-Iran” high-speed rail line, Pakistan will go from being the centerpiece of the trade route to being a substitute. ......

Is Afghanistan somehow more stable and secure than Pakistan. On the Iranian front, whatever happened to $300-$400 billion 'Iran–China 25-year Cooperation Program' announced in 2016?

Most of the projects CPEC is currently working on are ancillary. The real core projects are:
1. Gwadar-Kashgar highway
2. Gwadar-Kashgar High Speed Railway
3, Gwadar-Kashi oil and gas pipeline and fiber optic cable project
You can check the status of these core projects.
According to China's infrastructure capacity and construction progress, these projects should have been completed long ago.

These are some of the completed programs under CPEC as of October 2024.

​

-	Project Name	Date Completed	Government	Cost	Status
01	Pilot Project of Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcast (DTMB)​	April 2015	PML-N	$4 million	Completed
02​	1,320MW Sahiwal Coal-fired Power Plant​	28 October 2017​	PML-N​	$1.9122 billion​	Operational​
03	1,320 MW Coal-fired Power Plant at Port Qasim Karachi​	25 April 2018	PML-N	$1.9122 billion	Operational
04	1,320 MW China Hub Coal Power Project, Hub Balochistan​	17 Aug 2019	PTI	$1.9122 billion	Operational
05	660 MW Engro Thar Coal Power Project​	10 July 2019	PTI	$995.4 million	Operational
06	1,000 MW Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park (Bahawalpur)​	400 MW project: ? August 2016	PML-N	$520 million / $781 million	First Phase: Operation Second Phase: Implementation
07	50 MW Hydro China Dawood Wind Farm, Gharo, Thatta​	5 April 2017	PML-N	$112.65 million	Operational
08	100 MW UEP Wind Farm, Jhimpir, Thatta​	16 June 2017	PML-N	$250 million	Operational
09	50 MW Sachal Wind Farm Jhimpir, Thatta​	11 April 2017	PML-N	$134 million	Operational
10	100 MW Three Gorges Second and Third Wind Power Project​	Second Wind Farm: 30 June 2018 Third Wind Farm: 9 July 2018	PML-N	$150 million	Operational
11	Cross Border Optical Fiber Cable (Khunjrab - Rawalpindi)​	13 July 2018	PML-N	$44 million	Completed
12	Peshawar-Karachi Motorway (Multan-Sukkur Section)​	05 November 2019	PTI	$2.889 billion	Completed
13	Gwadar Smart Port City Master Plan​	05 November 2019	PTI	$4 million	Completed
14	KKH Road Phase II (Havelian - Thakot Section)​	Havelian - Mansehra Section: 18 November 2019 Mansehra - Thakot Section: 28 July 2020.	PTI	$1.315 billion	Completed
15	Orange Line Metro Train - Lahore​	25 October 2020	PTI	$1.626 billion	Completed
16	Development of Port and Free Zone​	7 April 2021	PTI	$300 million	Completed
17	Matiari to Lahore ±660 KV HVDC Transmission Line Project​	1 September 2021	PTI	$1.65834 billion	Operational
18	Pak-China Technical and Vocational Institute at Gwadar​	30 September 2021	PTI	$10 million	Completed
19	Hakla - D.I Khan Motorway​	05 January 2022	PTI	Construction: Rs.110,208 million • Land Acquisition, properties compensation, and shifting of utilities: Rs.11,973 million • Total: Rs.122,181 million	Completed
20	Gwadar Eastbay Expressway​	3 June 2022	PML-N	$179 million	Completed
21	720 MW Karot Hydropower Project, AJK/Punjab​	29 June 2022	PML-N	$1.720 billion	Operational
22	330 MW HUBCO Thar Coal Power Project (Thar Energy)​	30 September 2022	PML-N	$497.70 million	Operational
23	1,320 MW SSRL Thar Coal Block-I 7.8 mtpa & Power Plant (2×660MW) (Shanghai Electric)​	5 February 2023	PML-N	$1.91212 billion	Operational
24	330 MW HUBCO ThalNova Thar Coal Power Project​	17 February 2023	PML-N	$497.70 million	Operational
25	Pak-China Friendship Hospital​	4 December 2023	Caretaker	$100 million	Completed
26	1.2 MGD Desalination Plant​	4 December 2023	Caretaker	$12.7 million	Completed
27	884 MW Suki Kinari Hydropower Project, KP​	13 September 2024	PML-N	$2 billion	Operational
28	New Gwadar International Airport​	14 October 2024	PML-N	$230 million	Completed

So what you're saying doesn't make any sense because to date Pakistan has done everything that was agreed.

 

[PAKISTANFOREVER]

@PAKISTANFOREVER

To be honest, I didn't get a chance to go to Balochistan and see what the situation there was like.

It was just as well. I would humbly advise you to not to go to Balochistan on your future visits to PAK as well.

Regards

Went there in December 2023. Very clean place and really nice food....

PS Do you expect me to believe an indian when indians were also claiming that they are going to do to Pakistan what the israelis are doing to the Gazans and that india has invaded and captured Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad...........

 

[Michael]

Are you suggesting China did not plan for the cure projects when it launched CPEC?

You seem to have forgotten. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor itself is a backup plan. The main China-Middle East/Europe trade routes are the Strait of Malacca and the Trans-Asian Railway.
Based on strategic needs, China has proposed a new trade route, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. It will help China and boost Pakistan's economy.
You can learn more about Singapore. How they became one of the four little dragons of Asia. What are the most developed industries in their country.

Is Afghanistan somehow more stable and secure than Pakistan.

There are many videos on Chinese social media platforms to learn about social security issues in Afghanistan. There are many Chinese people living in Afghanistan who post videos on Douyin.
Our assessment, i.e. the social security situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is basically the same. It is possible that for some reasons, Chinese people are not allowed to travel to some high-risk areas. But this situation also exists in Pakistan.

On the Iranian front, whatever happened to $300-$400 billion 'Iran–China 25-year Cooperation Program' announced in 2016?

As for Iran. 2016 is just a scheduled program. The official signing of the agreement between the two sides is scheduled for 2020. 400 billion dollars over 25 years. Of this, $280 billion is for oil and gas procurement programs and $120 billion for infrastructure development programs.

The oil procurement program has been ongoing without interruption. ------ Due to U.S. sanctions, most of China's oil purchases from Iran are done in a special way. They don't make it into the official statistics.

A 25-year, $120 billion infrastructure development program has also been ongoing. There have been some fluctuations during this period due to the changing national foreign policy factors of the Iranian president. But now it is on track.

Many people are unaware of this $400 billion program. They think it is China that has invested $400 billion directly in Iran. In fact, most of the money has been used to buy oil and gas.

These are some of the completed programs under CPEC as of October 2024.
So what you're saying doesn't make any sense because to date Pakistan has done everything that was agreed.

You can count those items you listed.
The vast majority of them go to infrastructure projects for the people of Pakistan.

China's real core need is freight access. High speed rail, oil and gas pipelines, highways. Only after these freight corridors are opened can China move large cargo ships to Gwadar port and then the goods are connected to China via land transportation.
We cannot accept cargo traveling slowly on ordinary highways.

You have to realize that in today's China, the rush transportation time for cargo from the southernmost city to the northernmost city is within 24 hours by air and 48 hours by land. This also includes transit time for goods within the city.

As for other items. They are important for Pakistan, but not for China.

 

[Pakistan Space Agency]

... As for Iran. 2016 is just a scheduled program. The official signing of the agreement between the two sides is scheduled for 2020. 400 billion dollars over 25 years. Of this, $280 billion is for oil and gas procurement programs and $120 billion for infrastructure development programs.

Are you using DeepSeek to generate your answers.

... China's real core need is freight access. High speed rail, oil and gas pipelines, highways. Only after these freight corridors are opened can China move large cargo ships to Gwadar port and then the goods are connected to China via land transportation. ...

Again, what is the delay on China's part?

Like Pakistan specific projects under CPEC have been completed in the agreed time frames, the China specific core projects will also get the national priority as required.

What's this nonsense you keep mentioning about the Chinese on social media believe this and believe that? We're only interested in what the Chinese Government has announced, confirmed.

 

[ety]

You seem to have forgotten. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor itself is a backup plan. The main China-Middle East/Europe trade routes are the Strait of Malacca and the Trans-Asian Railway.
Based on strategic needs, China has proposed a new trade route, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. It will help China and boost Pakistan's economy.
You can learn more about Singapore. How they became one of the four little dragons of Asia. What are the most developed industries in their country.

There are many videos on Chinese social media platforms to learn about social security issues in Afghanistan. There are many Chinese people living in Afghanistan who post videos on Douyin.
Our assessment, i.e. the social security situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is basically the same. It is possible that for some reasons, Chinese people are not allowed to travel to some high-risk areas. But this situation also exists in Pakistan.

As for Iran. 2016 is just a scheduled program. The official signing of the agreement between the two sides is scheduled for 2020. 400 billion dollars over 25 years. Of this, $280 billion is for oil and gas procurement programs and $120 billion for infrastructure development programs.

The oil procurement program has been ongoing without interruption. ------ Due to U.S. sanctions, most of China's oil purchases from Iran are done in a special way. They don't make it into the official statistics.

A 25-year, $120 billion infrastructure development program has also been ongoing. There have been some fluctuations during this period due to the changing national foreign policy factors of the Iranian president. But now it is on track.

Many people are unaware of this $400 billion program. They think it is China that has invested $400 billion directly in Iran. In fact, most of the money has been used to buy oil and gas.

You can count those items you listed.
The vast majority of them go to infrastructure projects for the people of Pakistan.

China's real core need is freight access. High speed rail, oil and gas pipelines, highways. Only after these freight corridors are opened can China move large cargo ships to Gwadar port and then the goods are connected to China via land transportation.
We cannot accept cargo traveling slowly on ordinary highways.

You have to realize that in today's China, the rush transportation time for cargo from the southernmost city to the northernmost city is within 24 hours by air and 48 hours by land. This also includes transit time for goods within the city.

As for other items. They are important for Pakistan, but not for China.

I think Pakistan's foremost interest of CPEC is to develop the industries and economy along the corridor. But to do that, first have to build basic infrastructures in the areas and that's what China has been doing. So far, Pakistan hasn't been able to attract many industries and business to relocate there and so are not generating profits now. Seems quite a number of Pakistanis are against CPEC now anyway, and maybe China should reevaluate that. It probably going to take very long time before building the railway, oil and gas pipelines to China.

 

[PAKISTANFOREVER]

I think Pakistan's foremost interest of CPEC is to develop the industries and economy along the corridor. But to do that, first have to build basic infrastructures in the areas and that's what China has been doing. So far, Pakistan hasn't been able to attract many industries and business to relocate there and so are not generating profits now. Seems quite a number of Pakistanis are against CPEC now anyway, and maybe China should reevaluate that. It probably going to take very long time before building the railway, oil and gas pipelines to China.

Only according to the super reliable indian media are more and more Pakistanis turning against CPEC and that CPEC is not doing well...........

 

[PAKISTANFOREVER]

Are you using DeepSeek to generate your answers.

Again, what is the delay on China's part?

Like Pakistan specific projects under CPEC have been completed in the agreed time frames, the China specific core projects will also get the national priority as required.

What's this nonsense you keep mentioning about the Chinese on social media believe this and believe that? We're only interested in what the Chinese Government has announced, confirmed.

CPEC is a long term project that lays the foundation of Pakistan becoming economically powerful in the long term. This may take decades to come to fruition.

The same people who are claiming that CPEC will never work are the SAME people who claimed that Pakistan can NEVER become a nuclear weapons state and that india can defeat Pakistan in a matter of hours. Don't listen to the hyperbole from those who wish ill on Pakistan.

 

[Michael]

Are you using DeepSeek to generate your answers.

This is the English version of the Wikipedia description of the China-Iran Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement. It carries some bias, but the timing is correct. You can refer to the Chinese version of the note.

Again, what is the delay on China's part?
Like Pakistan specific projects under CPEC have been completed in the agreed time frames, the China specific core projects will also get the national priority as required.
What's this nonsense you keep mentioning about the Chinese on social media believe this and believe that? We're only interested in what the Chinese Government has announced, confirmed.

Your ability to comprehend is truly worrisome.
I have given you details of these situations earlier.
In order to build a road, you must first take care of the land and the capital.
For China, the issue of funding is not a big problem. The main problem is the issue of negotiating Pakistan's share in these projects.
The land issue needs to be dealt with by the Pakistani government. China cannot go directly to every landowner. It needs the Pakistani government to step in and fully nationalize the land first.
After these, the construction of highways, high-speed railroads, oil and gas pipeline projects, etc., can start immediately.

Forget it, we are not in the same thinking channel.
End it there!

CPEC is a long term project that lays the foundation of Pakistan becoming economically powerful in the long term. This may take decades to come to fruition.

The same people who are claiming that CPEC will never work are the SAME people who claimed that Pakistan can NEVER become a nuclear weapons state and that india can defeat Pakistan in a matter of hours. Don't listen to the hyperbole from those who wish ill on Pakistan.

No one in China denies CPEC, and we all hope that CPEC will be open as soon as possible.
However, based on the Chinese understanding of the speed of infrastructure development in China, CPEC has completely exceeded our expectations. If you go to Chinese social media (Weibo), you will see very, very many criticisms that are much worse than what I have said.
We hope to find some solutions to move CPEC forward as soon as possible, and “Plan B” is also a means of moving forward.
Of course, if you still think I'm bashing CPEC, then I can end this thread altogether.

 

[Pakistan Space Agency]

... In order to build a road, you must first take care of the land and the capital.
For China, the issue of funding is not a big problem. The main problem is the issue of negotiating Pakistan's share in these projects.
The land issue needs to be dealt with by the Pakistani government. China cannot go directly to every landowner. It needs the Pakistani government to step in and fully nationalize the land first. ...

You want Pakistani Government to take over some random land for a project that has not even been proposed to Pakistan yet?

You're not making much sense.

How do you think Pakistani Government acquired the land where roads are already have been built under CPEC?

Majority of Pakistan is empty, no man's land. The Government can take over as and when it needs to without any issues.

 

[mythbuster]

I think Pakistan's foremost interest of CPEC is to develop the industries and economy along the corridor. But to do that, first have to build basic infrastructures in the areas and that's what China has been doing. So far, Pakistan hasn't been able to attract many industries and business to relocate there and so are not generating profits now. Seems quite a number of Pakistanis are against CPEC now anyway, and maybe China should reevaluate that. It probably going to take very long time before building the railway, oil and gas pipelines to China.

Let's put this friendship thingy aside and look at the entire BRI and CPEC projects from a rational perspective........china has huge amount of Forex reserves, it has to park this money somewhere .... investment in dollars is neither safe nor it yields any profits ......so china came up with BRI and CPEC projects......these are gov to gov deals so investment and profits are guaranteed.....there is no truism from the Chinese side ...the recipient countries are heavily burdened by the debt and are struggling to pay back the money but paying they are.......these projects are white elephants...... it's a con game played by the Chinese on naive and trusting countries.

 

[Mr X]

How many dollars are we talking about this time around?

 

[ety]

Let's put this friendship thingy aside and look at the entire BRI and CPEC projects from a rational perspective........china has huge amount of Forex reserves, it has to park this money somewhere .... investment in dollars is neither safe nor it yields any profits ......so china came up with BRI and CPEC projects......these are gov to gov deals so investment and profits are guaranteed.....there is no truism from the Chinese side ...the recipient countries are heavily burdened by the debt and are struggling to pay back the money but paying they are.......these projects are white elephants...... it's a con game played by the Chinese on naive and trusting countries.

If you put that way, Pakistani gov and other countries could always refused the projects from the beginning if they were no any good for you, they were not forced upon. Yes, those are investments from Chinese side too.

 

[mythbuster]

If you put that way, Pakistani gov and other countries could always refuse the projects from the beginning if they were no any good for you, they were not forced upon.

Yep , they could have but didn't....they are paying the price now...... that's what a good conman do to unsuspecting victims.

 

[SoulSpokesman]

@mythbuster

Blum Pai,

Pakistan and other trapped countries need to pay them back in the same coin. Stop paying the debt/tariffs and expropriate the assets- on pretext of corruption in the projects.

Regards