According to state-run media, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed hope that China and Pakistan will work together to establish the circumstances for the early completion of the Main Line-1 (ML-1) and Karachi Circular Railway projects. China’s ‘calm’ ties with Pakistan are mostly influenced by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The CPEC project is of utmost significance to Beijing because of its relationship to the Belt and Road Initiative. According to The Hong Kong Post, Xi Jinping wants to turn CPEC into a model of excellent Belt and Road collaboration. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif travelled to Beijing to congratulate Chinese President Xi Jinping on winning a third term at the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
During his visit to China, Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif was obligated to provide Xi Jinping an update on the CPEC project’s progress. According to a state media source cited by The Hong Kong Post, Xi thought it ‘essential’ to hasten the construction of the auxiliary infrastructure for Gwadar Port in order to emphasise the port’s function as a catalyst for the region’s linked growth.
Xi Jinping stated that China will continue to help Pakistan in its attempts to better its financial situation. Notably, China was pleased with the project’s development up until Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan was a cricketer-turned-politician. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-run government has often criticised the CPEC project while showing little overt interest in it.
Beijing expects to use its influence to affect developments along the land and maritime ‘silk routes’ that connect China and Europe. The project’s sea and land routes both pass via the Indian Ocean region, with the land route passing through the Himalayan region close to the Chinese border.
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