China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) | Updates & Discussions

[xuxu1457]

Nawaz took No.6 Metro in Beijing

Welcome to China

 

[cirr]

Prime Minister rides Beijing subway system

July 05, 2013 RECORDER REPORT

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Thursday morning took a ride on Beijing subway system here and enquired about its operation and facilities. The PM before travelling in metro train went to the operation room of the Line-6, where he was briefed about the subway system of the capital city.

While travelling in the train the PM was briefed about the cost of the project, the number of people benefiting from it and the quality of service available. The Prime Minister was also informed about the subsidy the government was providing to the travelling commuters. He was informed that on average 40,000 people ride in the subway in one hour.

Talking to newsmen, he said his government was committed to provide low-cost comfortable journey to the masses. "I was impressed with the underground railway system," PM said, adding "we want to have this facility in Pakistan as well." Chief Ministers of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Advisor to PM on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, Ambassador Masood Khalid, senior officials from China and Pakistan also travelled in Metro.

The Beijing's subway length has risen from 114 km in 2007 to 456 km, according to officials. By 2015, the number of subway lines in Beijing will reach 19, with a combined length of 561 km. By 2020, the total subway length is expected to have increased to 1,000 km. Official statistics indicated that China's total urban transit investment has reached 1.23 trillion Yuan, of which 189.6 billion Yuan was used to build 337 km of subway lines in 2012. Another 220 billion Yuan will be used to build 290 km of subway lines in 2013. China CSR and China CNR are country's two biggest train manufacturers.

 

[Albatross]

Speaking with the Chairman Orient Group of Investment Zhang Hongwei said that there is big potential Pakistan has in oil and gas exploration.

"We are happy to support and help Chinese partnership" in various projects of economy, he said

The Chairman Zahng expressed willingness to help Pakistan in construction of pipe line from Pakistan to China immediately and also ready to send a team for partnership in laying down pipeline from Iran to Pakistan.

He said that his company has under taken wind energy project for generating 1000 MW in first phase in Pakistan's Jhampir.

This pipeline is going to be a backbone for china and pakistan's development and I hope work on this project will start soon .

 

[OrionHunter]

why You Indians exhibit rondo behaviour in areas NOT concerning you at all?
All on the cards.

Gawadar already handed over to China and rest of the projects are in pipeline.

And Gilgit/Baltistan handed over too, which will soon become an autonomous region of China like TAR. I heard it's been leased to China for 50 years!

China should also help Pakistan build a couple of metro lines in Karachi and other large cities。

Those couple of metro lines would cost upward of $10 billion (The Beijing metro itself costs $17 billion!) Are the Chinese going to finance this? NO! Unless there is something in it for them! Or you guys would need to shell out the dough! Aw shucks! Now that's a tough one!

 

[A.Rafay]

Nawaz: char billion bhiik mangne aaye hain!
Le jinping: chaaarrr! Ye to buhat ziada hai!

Jokes aside.
Long live Pakistan China friendship!

 

[Albatross]

And Gilgit/Baltistan handed over too, which will soon become an autonomous region of China like TAR. I heard it's been leased to China for 50 years!

Those couple of metro lines would cost upward of $10 billion (The Beijing metro itself costs $17 billion!) Are the Chinese going to finance this? NO! Unless there is something in it for them! Or you guys would need to shell out the dough! Shucks! Now that's a tough one!

Your pain is understandable but there is a lot of potential , lahore metro is being used by 120000 people per day at the fare on average is 20 rs so it is generating per day around 12000000 and will return its cost in less than a year .
Same goes for underground projects china can built them on BOT basis and can recover their money in 2-3 years easily .And then its gonna be a huge profit for both china and pak and later profit can be divided b/w china and Pak .

 

[cirr]

Chinese firms ready to invest billions of dollars in Pakistan

Rana Jawad

Friday, July 05, 2013

BEIJING: Chinese companies expressed their willingness to invest billions of dollars in Pakistan during meetings with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as chairman Orient Group of Investment offered laying the Pak-Iran gas pipeline up to China.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping during an official visit to Beijing.Nawaz Sharif said he chose China for his first overseas visit to strengthen and develop the friendly neighbourly ties between the two countries.

“Pakistan hopes to expand economic exchanges, especially in developing basic infrastructure, and welcomes Chinese businesses to invest there,” he said.Xi told him China hoped to move ahead with plans for a “China-Pakistan economic corridor. All-weather strategic cooperation is the precious wealth our two countries share.”

While interacting with a responsive galaxy of Chinese business and corporate leaders, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged them to extend their help and cooperation for power generation and infrastructure development in Pakistan in line with the close strategic partnership between the two countries.

Speaking with the Chairman Orient Group of Investment Zhang Hongwei, the prime minister said that there was big potential in Pakistan in oil and gas exploration. “We are happy to support and help Chinese partnership in various projects of economy,” he said.

Chairman Zahng expressed willingness to help Pakistan in construction of pipeline from Pakistan to China immediately and send a team for partnership in laying gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan.

He said that his company had undertaken wind energy project to generating 1000MW in first phase in Jhampir area in Pakistan.The meeting was the highlight of the prime minister’s engagements on the first day of his five-day official visit to China.

He told the chief executives from Chinese corporate and financial sectors that overcoming Pakistan’s energy crisis was top priority of his government along with developing infrastructure in the country to pave the way for more foreign investment and industrial growth.

Prime Minister Sharif had a detailed meeting at the State Guest House here with the chairman of China’s Export-Import Bank, Li Ruogu, which officials in his delegation termed very productive and encouraging.

Underscoring the depth of Pakistan-China relationship characterised by warmth, mutual respect and convergence of views and interests, the prime minister sought more funding by the leading Chinese bank for the Chinese enterprises already working in Pakistan.

Mr Li, later, while talking to media representatives, said that EXIM bank was already supporting 27 projects in Pakistan to the level of six billion dollars and that the bank would consider further expanding assistance in energy, transport and infrastructure domains.

Nawaz Sharif also held a meeting with Chairman of China Development Bank Hu Huaibang, briefing him in detail about his government’s economic agenda and the policies it was formulating to put the national economy on an even keel, including measures to give an impetus to investment from friendly countries.

He specifically asked for a credit line from China Development Bank and said a special fund would be created for planned Pak-China economic corridor by linking Gwadar deep seaport being developed by Chinese expertise with Kashghar through road and rail network.

The prime minister said he would soon send a team to China to work out details on various projects.

A senior member of the entourage told ‘The News’ that the prime minister did all he could to offset a perception among Chinese financial and investment circles that Pakistan “is only good for signing MoUs and then sleeping over them.”

“Write to me directly on my e-mail,” Nawaz Sahrif told the Chinese business and financial leaders and “we will get back to you in 24 hours... And see to it that hiccups are removed within 7 days.”

A close aide to the prime minister said Pakistan and China had traditionally very strong and defence ties and “now it is a new effort to create and foster stronger economic and business bonds.”

Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Planning and Development, told ‘The News’ that the prime ministers of Pakistan and China had strong business management backgrounds and therefore “we think it is time to convert it into economic thrust that will benefit the region.”

“A new promising twist in relations is in the offing – building strong economic, trade and investment cooperation unlike the past emphasis only on defence collaboration. It surely is a new twist in the old bonds,” said a Pakistani official.

“So many projects are being discussed in one trip; this has never happened before. If implemented, the plans prove a game changer and Pakistan and China will both benefit hugely. My focus is boosting economic and business activities through connectivity. China connected to Pakistan and we connected to china,” the prime minister told media after visiting an underground train.

Giving economic links ascendancy in relations with China is widely seen as a right and fruitful path for Pakistan while China forges ahead as an economic power on the global scene.

In a meeting with President of China Investment Corporation Gao Xiqing, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif laid out details of his economic mission, calling for expanded Chinese partnership in projects in the spheres of energy and infrastructure.

The prime minister said there were tremendous prospects for the Chinese in hydro and coal based power generation project as well as in the area of motorways and high speed trains.

He informed that the economic corridor from Gwadar to Kashgar would greatly benefit not only the people of Pakistan and China but also the regional countries.He said it would be highly beneficial and convenient for the Chinese to export their goods from Kashgar and central parts of the country to Middle East and to Europe through Pakistan.

Nawaz Sharif said that he had held very comprehensive talks on relevant project with Chinese Premier Li Keqaing during his visit to Islamabad in May. “We wish to see stronger Pakistan-China partnership in all fields and diverse projects.”

The prime minister said that his government would welcome Chinese partnership in the construction of Bhasha Dam in Pakistan’s northern areas.The prime minister also invited Chinese support in Mass Transit project for Karachi and said that the provincial metropolis needed this system as early as possible.

To provide better transport facilities to the masses his government also wanted to implement Karachi-Peshawar fast train project, he said and added, “This is my dream and it can and will come true.”

Talking to Vice-President of China Power Investment Corporation Wang Zhiying, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said with the support of his organisation “we can address our energy problem.”“A lot can be changed with your cooperation,” he told Mr Wang and also referred to the long-standing plan to exploit the vast Thar coal deposits in Sindh and invited the Chinese Investment Corporation to extend a helping hand to realise the objective.

Wang told the prime minister that his company was already working on two power plants of 600MW each generating capacity in Thar. The prime minister, emphasising the need for completion of the projects at the earliest, and asked Mr Wang to directly contact his secretariat for removal of any bottlenecks.

He assured Mr Wang that he would get reply within 24 hours from the PM office.Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minster Dr Abdul Malik Baloch said that on the directive of the prime minister, he assured Chinese investors full security in his province.

Punjab Chief Minister Shabaz Sharif, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, Ambassador Masood Khalid and Chinese Ambassador in Pakistan Sun Wei Dong and prominent Pakistani businessmen were also present during the meetings.

 

[M.harris]

 

[Spring Onion]

What next?


More orgasmic than .........................

dint know apart from crying you Indians also felt orgasims viz a viz Pak-China relations.

 

[IceCold]

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday told his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang their countries' relationship was “sweeter than honey”, during a visit to Beijing with economic ties at the top of the agenda.

I am sick of this constantly nonsensical BS spouted by the Pakistani premiers which have no significant face value.....kabbi its higher then the himalayas, kabbi its sweeter then honey..........actually its nothing, its all interest. Aj hain kal nahi hoon ga unless we have to offer something concrete as well. China will not come to our aid everytime. There was a time when something similar could have said about the Pakistan US relationship back in the 60's and now look how interests changed and so did the relationship.
Our fat no good leaders need to get this into their thick skulls and need to move beyond this verbal BS to something concrete.

 

[cirr]

And Gilgit/Baltistan handed over too, which will soon become an autonomous region of China like TAR. I heard it's been leased to China for 50 years!

Those couple of metro lines would cost upward of $10 billion (The Beijing metro itself costs $17 billion!) Are the Chinese going to finance this? NO! Unless there is something in it for them! Or you guys would need to shell out the dough! Aw shucks! Now that's a tough one!

Rubbish.

The Beijing Subway System has close to 20 lines and dwarves anything you have in India by a long，very long stretch。

Top Pakistani cities like Karachi can start with one line， the building of which will cost a lot less than 500 million dollars。

A major cost element of a Beijing Subway Line is the sky-high land price which i am sure is lower in Karachi。

China can provide，say，an interest-free loan of 500 million dollars for 20 years and could always waive the loan thereafter for whatever reason。 It would only cost each Chinese 35 cents。

 

[MM_Haider]

the nawaz sharif will come back home after selling each asset to china... bloody fool!!!!... in today's world there is nothing like friendship.. it is just economic interests...

 

[beijingwalker]

Pakistan, China set sights on Arabian Sea link

Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press 22 minutes ago

BEIJING (AP) -- China and Pakistan set their sights Friday on developing a transport link through rugged mountains and lawless lands, a route they hope will boost economic growth and bring critical oil supplies to power-hungry China much faster.

A broad agreement for the "economic corridor" was among eight pacts signed following a meeting in Beijing between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The 2,000-kilometer (1,200-mile) transport link was described as a "long-term plan" to connect Kashgar in northwestern China to the Pakistani port of Gwadar, likely by road in the beginning and possibly by rail later.

Pakistan is hoping to attract greater Chinese investment to revive its moribund economy beset by inefficiency, corruption, political instability and chronic electricity shortages, while expanding two-way trade that exceeded $12 billion for the first time last year.

For its part, China wants Pakistan to crack down on insurgents from China's Muslim Uighur minority who have taken refuge in Pakistan's northwest alongside al-Qaida-linked extremists. Pakistan says it has killed or extradited several of those militants over the past few years, but acknowledges that some remain at large in the area.

Another agreement is for a fiber-optic cable to be laid from the Chinese border to the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi which will boost Pakistan's access to international communications networks. China is to provide 85 percent of the financing for the three-year project's $44 million budget, with Pakistan covering the rest.

Sharif's visit to China is his first foreign trip since returning to power last month, highlighting the importance Pakistan places on its 63-year-old relationship with its most important ally in the region. The two cooperate closely in diplomatic and defense affairs, and share a common rival in their mutual neighbor and occasional military opponent India.

"Let me tell you very candidly and very sincerely that what I am witnessing here on my visit to Beijing, it reminds me of the saying our friendship is higher than the Himalayas and deeper than the deepest sea in the world, and sweeter than honey," Sharif told Li at the start of their meeting, employing the usual effusive language with which the two nations describe their relationship.

A joint statement issued after the meeting affirmed their support for an Afghan-led peace effort in the country following the withdrawal of U.S. troops next year. It said they would "work with the regional countries and the international community to help Afghanistan achieve peace, stability and security."

China provides Pakistan with aid and foreign investment, while Islamabad offers Beijing important diplomatic backing in the face of Muslim-majority nations who might otherwise criticize China's handling of its Muslim population.

Hopes for road, rail and pipeline links from Kashgar to the presently little-used port at Gwadar received a major boost when control of the port was transferred to China's state-owned China Overseas Ports Holding Co. Ltd. in February. Built by Chinese workers and opened in 2007, it is undergoing a major expansion to turn it into a full-fledged, deep water commercial port.

The statement said a joint committee will be set up that will oversee the upgrading and realigning of the 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) Karakoram highway running from Kashgar to the Pakistani town of Abbottabad over mountain passes as high as 4,693 meters (15,397 feet).

If the transport link takes off, oil from the Middle East could be offloaded at Gwadar, which is located just outside the mouth of the Gulf, and transported to China through the lawless Baluchistan province in Paksitan and the rugged Karakoram mountains. Such a link would vastly cut the 12,000-kilometer (7,500-mile) route that Mideast oil supplies must now take to reach Chinese ports.

Gwadar could also provide an outlet for copper and other resources that Chinese companies plan to mine in Afghanistan, while offering a base for China's navy to operate in the Indian Ocean in competition with India.

China has already begun upgrading the Karakoram highway and has dispatched workers to develop projects high in the mountains of the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir.

The geographical and security challenges to the link remain daunting, however, and any working link is likely many years away. It would go through territory menaced by the Pakistani Taliban, while nationalists in Baluchistan view it as an attempt by the ethnic Punjabis who largely run Pakistan to strengthen their control over the desert region and plunder its natural resources.

While the idea of pipeline and rail links is receiving more credence than when first proposed several years ago, the reality on the ground will rule out any big changes for the time being, said Andrew Small, an expert on China-Pakistan relations at the German Marshall Fund in Washington, D.C.

"None of the long-term security questions have gone away and continue to bring the project's viability into question," Small said. "Basic things like infrastructure still need to be accomplished. That alone isn't going to be a game-changer."

Pakistan, China set sights on Arabian Sea link

 

[OrionHunter]

"Let me tell you very candidly and very sincerely that what I am witnessing here on my visit to Beijing, it reminds me of the saying our friendship is higher than the Himalayas and deeper than the deepest sea in the world, and sweeter than honey.."

Ooops!...He forgot to complete that line which has been done to death! And that is, ..."Stronger than steel."

 

[Major Sam]

Jalnay wala ka moon kala.... Kio Indians Lagi na Thah ker k