CPEC is nonsense. This is not a loan. China loans itself. So CPEChas not generated any jobs, any real economic activity. On top of that, only benefit to Pakistan is "transit" fee! So yeah, Pakistan now owes China billions and may be in future it will earn some "transit fee". Benevolence of China, no doubt. That CPEC infra won't be good for anything else since no one is propping industries in Pakistan.
According to guy, "sea" is too far!
China has signed cooperation documents on jointly building the "Belt and Road" with more than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is an important part of the "Belt and Road" initiative.
If there were no benefits to be gained, would the leaders of these more than 150 countries and 30 international organizations all be fools?
Let's look at the facts. In 2024, freight trains from China to Europe via Poland reached 15,000 trips,
generating transit fees of 600 million to 900 million euros, providing a sustainable source of revenue for Poland. The China-Europe freight trains have fostered a complete logistics ecosystem in Poland, with value far exceeding the direct transit income.
Creating jobs and income
The freight forwarding industry has grown rapidly: for example, AsstrA, which entered the freight train business in 2015, saw its business volume increase 20 times,
its staff grow from fewer than 100 to over 1,000, and its annual revenue exceed 500 million euros. And this is just one company.
Coordinated development of road transport: the "last mile" delivery of train cargo relies on road transport, with a related annual growth rate of over 15%,
creating more than 50,000 truck driver jobs and helping multiple Polish transport companies expand internationally.
Affordable, convenient, and fast transport attracts investment.
Concentration of manufacturing investment: TCL Group invested 200 million euros to establish a TV factory with an annual capacity of 3 million units; companies like Midea, Great Wall, and Geely have also built factories, forming a complete industrial cluster.
Aggregation of e-commerce distribution centers: Alibaba, JD.com, and other e-commerce giants have set up European distribution centers of over 500,000 square meters in Poland, capable of processing hundreds of thousands of orders daily, enabling delivery to major European cities within 24-48 hours.
China-Poland trade volume has grown from 15 billion USD in 2013 to 40 billion USD in 2024.
It seems that Indians do not understand that transportation costs are part of the cost of goods. With roads, a large number of jobs and opportunities are created. People around the roads can shift from agriculture to industry, entrepreneurship, transportation, and services. Farmers’ land prices and wages rise, living conditions improve, and local products gain a competitive advantage in exports.