China obtém acesso estratégico ao Oceano Índico. Injeta $46bi no Paquistão, mega-hub econômico.
China's President Xi Jinping has signed agreements with Pakistan promising investment of $46bn (£30.7bn). The focus of spending is on building a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - a network of roads, railway and pipelines between the long-time allies. They will run some 3,000km (1,800 miles) from Gwadar in Pakistan to China's western Xinjiang region. The projects will give China direct access to the Indian Ocean and beyond. This marks a major advance in China's plans to boost its influence in Central and South Asia, correspondents say, and far exceeds US spending in Pakistan.
"Pakistan, for China, is now of pivotal importance. This has to succeed and be seen to succeed," Reuters quoted Mushahid Hussain Sayed, chairman of the Pakistani parliament's defence committee, as saying. Pakistan, for its part, hopes the investment will strengthen its struggling economy and help end chronic power shortages. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said ties with China had "remained robust" despite political changes and "major regional developments" over four generations. "Our relations are based on the shared ideals and principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit and mutual respect," he said. Pakistan, meanwhile, hopes the investment will enable it to transform itself into a regional economic hub. Ahsan Iqbal, the Pakistani minister overseeing the plan, told AFP news agency that these were "very substantial and tangible projects which will have a significant transformative effect". Pakistan's neighbour and rival, India, will be watching developments closely. Delhi is wary of China's regional ambitions, despite relations improving markedly in recent years. President Xi visited Delhi last year, after postponing his visit to Islamabad because of anti-government protests. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due in China next month.
China sees a historic opportunity to redraw the geopolitical map by succeeding where the U.S. has largely failed, building critical infrastructure that could kick-start economic growth and open new trade routes between China and Central and South Asia. A cornerstone of the project will be to develop the Pakistani port of Gwadar, a warm-water port run by the Chinese on the doorstep of the Middle East. If realized, the plan would be China’s biggest splurge on economic development in another country to date. It aims over 15 years to create a 2,000-mile economic corridor between Gwadar and northwest China, with roads, rail links and pipelines crossing Pakistan. The network ultimately will link to other countries as well, potentially creating a regional trading boom, Pakistani and Chinese officials say. The Pakistan program has been described by Chinese officials as the “flagship project” of a broader policy, “One Belt, One Road,” which seeks to physically connect China to its markets in Asia, Europeand beyond. “If ‘One Belt, One Road’ is like a symphony involving and benefiting every country, then construction of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor is the sweet melody of the symphony’s first movement,” Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister said during a visit to Pakistan in February.
