22 April 2015

Two birds, one $46 billion stone

By: Andrew Small
April 22, 2015 

After repeated cancellations, delays and false rumours, the fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping finally made it to Islamabad this week was a relief for the Pakistani government. As a rule, the China-Pakistan relationship rarely hinges on major bilateral visits, but each time Xi’s trip was pushed back, it seemed to reflect another hitch that might jeopardise China’s large-scale investment plans. Even now, there is understandable scepticism about whether the ambitions for a $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will actually come off. Security risks, logistical challenges and political controversies abound for what would be the largest overseas development-focused investment effort that China has ever attempted. But banking on another failure would be a mistake. This time, Beijing intends to press ahead with the initiatives despite Pakistan’s problems, and even partly because of them.

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