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Chinese president to visit Pakistan, hammer out $46-billion deal

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ISLAMABAD: Chinese President Xi Jinping will launch energy and infrastructure projects worth $46 billion on a visit to Pakistan next week as China cements links with its old ally and generates opportunities for firms hit by slack growth at home.

Also being finalised is a long-discussed plan to sell Pakistan eight Chinese submarines. The deal, worth between $4 billion and $5 billion, according to media reports, may be among those signed on the trip.

Know more:Pakistan to buy eight submarines from China.

Xi will visit next Monday and Tuesday, Pakistan's foreign office said.

“China treats us as a friend, an ally, a partner and above all an equal - not how the Americans and others do,” said Mushahid Hussain Syed, chairman of the parliament's defence committee.

Pakistan and China often boast of being “iron brothers” and two-way trade grew to $10 billion last year from $4 billion in 2007, Pakistani data shows.

Xi's trip is expected to focus on a Pakistan-China Economic Corridor, a planned $46-billion network of roads, railways and energy projects linking Pakistan's deepwater Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea with China's far-western Xinjiang region.

It would shorten the route for China's energy imports, bypassing the Straits of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia, a bottleneck at risk of blockade in wartime.

If the submarine deal is signed, China may also offer Pakistan concessions on building a refuelling and mechanical station in Gwadar, a defence analyst said.

China's own submarines could use the station to extend their range in the Indian Ocean.

“China is thinking in terms of a maritime silk road now, something to connect the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean,” said a Pakistani defence official, who declined to be identified.

For Pakistan, the corridor is a cheap way to develop its violence-plagued and poverty-stricken Balochistan province, home to Gwadar.

China has promised to invest about $34 billion in energy projects and nearly $12 billion in infrastructure.

Xi is also likely to raise fears that Muslim separatists from Xinjiang are linking up with Pakistani militants, and he could also push for closer efforts for a more stable Afghanistan.

Earlier, the Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping will be visiting Pakistan from April 20 to April 21 on a two-day state visit.

"I can confirm that the Chinese president will be visiting Pakistan from April 20 to 21," FO spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said during a weekly media briefing in Pakistan.

She said a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) and agreements would be signed during Xi's visit to Pakistan.

Pakistan has been looking forward to the Chinese leader’s visit for the last ten months, but at least two scheduled visits have been postponed during the period.

Take a look:Chinese president likely to visit in April

Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong said on March 10 that the Chinese president’s March visit had been cancelled due to certain domestic engagements. The Chinese president was also expected to attend the Pakistan Day parade on March 23, according to an earlier plan.

The envoy said the Chinese head of state had to attend an ongoing session of parliament in Beijing, which takes place once a year. “It is mandatory for all Chinese leaders to be in the country for the parliamentary session,” he had said.

Another visit to Pakistan, in September 2014, had been postponed because of security concerns.

President Xi is expected to address a joint session of parliament on the second day of his visit, which may be summoned by President Mamnoon Hussain as close as a day before the address, a National Assembly secretariat spokesperson had earlier told Dawn. “However, no date has been mentioned by the government,” he had said.

Chinese president to visit Pakistan, hammer out $46-billion deal - Pakistan - DAWN.COM
 
This is a good News. Pakistan's government should be a little more ambitious. We are planning trade corridors for China which is great but we can see similar opportunity in Central Asian States. In fact, the western provinces of China can easily rely on eastern ports of China, the same country, but most central Asian states have to rely on very difficult routes to sea. We can make an eight or even ten lane highway with half of the lanes reserved for large trucks to transport containers from Gawadar to Central Asian states. There would be a single highway in Pakistan but would bifurcate in northern areas for the shortest route to each central Asian state. We can ask Chinese companies for funding this large project and it would be like Egypt's Suez Canal on the land and this project can easily be run on commercial basis which would be great for our country.The government should make a decision to work out all aspects of this project and ask Chinese companies for funding as they are looking for profitable opportunities abroad with their piles of accumulated cash.
 
This is a good News. Pakistan's government should be a little more ambitious. We are planning trade corridors for China which is great but we can see similar opportunity in Central Asian States. In fact, the western provinces of China can easily rely on eastern ports of China, the same country, but most central Asian states have to rely on very difficult routes to sea. We can make an eight or even ten lane highway with half of the lanes reserved for large trucks to transport containers from Gawadar to Central Asian states. There would be a single highway in Pakistan but would bifurcate in northern areas for the shortest route to each central Asian state. We can ask Chinese companies for funding this large project and it would be like Egypt's Suez Canal on the land and this project can easily be run on commercial basis which would be great for our country.The government should make a decision to work out all aspects of this project and ask Chinese companies for funding as they are looking for profitable opportunities abroad with their piles of accumulated cash.

If we really want to develop Gawadar as a rival to regional port states of Dubai, Singapore etc, we can automatically do it by linking it through a modern highway link to central Asian states. In fact, the ports of Singapore, and Dubai have to work very hard and do not have very special natural geographical advantages like our country has, as a link to many landlocked Central Asian states. If we act wisely now, we can leverage our geography to make a lot of money for our country and also develop Gawadar as a modern port which we have been trying to do for past fifteen years. Without completing this project, hte potential of Gawadar port will never be fully utilized. This was the road USSR always wanted to connect their central Asian states to Arabian sea. If we can successfully complete this project, Gawadar could be a more thriving city than Dubai or Singapore after twenty years.
 
This is a good News. Pakistan's government should be a little more ambitious. We are planning trade corridors for China which is great but we can see similar opportunity in Central Asian States. In fact, the western provinces of China can easily rely on eastern ports of China, the same country, but most central Asian states have to rely on very difficult routes to sea. We can make an eight or even ten lane highway with half of the lanes reserved for large trucks to transport containers from Gawadar to Central Asian states. There would be a single highway in Pakistan but would bifurcate in northern areas for the shortest route to each central Asian state. We can ask Chinese companies for funding this large project and it would be like Egypt's Suez Canal on the land and this project can easily be run on commercial basis which would be great for our country.The government should make a decision to work out all aspects of this project and ask Chinese companies for funding as they are looking for profitable opportunities abroad with their piles of accumulated cash.

- As compared to China (population 1350 million), the combined population of 4 central Asian nations is only 45 million.
- None of them have GDP per capita more than China's - in fact some have 5 times lower than that of China's.
- There isn't much that we could expect to come from those countries save Turkmanistan's gas (TAPI).
- China has already made road links with these nations; is a buyer of their natural resources. Train links are present from the Soviet era.
- An alternative for these countries to reach the sea-lanes will be Iran which is more stable internally; this will also save these nations from traveling through the rough areas in Afghanistan.

In short the material benefits that Pakistan can reap by building road - train links with CAR will be peanuts as compared to those gained from Khunjrab - Gwadar corridor.
 
@user1, of course, you will like to say it since you live in UK.

Quoting China's population and making a comparison shows that you do not know much. 95% of the Chinese live East of Heihe-Tengchong line which is very close to East China sea. Why are we building the Corridors for Xinjiang. Do you know the population of Xinjiang?

Are you talking about Turkeman gas pipeline because it is sponsored by America. I live in Pakistan and right interests of my country are supreme for me as compared to what you are trying to say.

You stated," None of them have GDP per capita more than China's - in fact some have 5 times lower than that of China's."
which is not a valid argument since eastern parts of China have far more GDP as compared to Xinjiang we are trying to connect in China. Some have five times less GDP is also not a valid argument as you have used the word "some."

Theses states have huge potential to develop and this proposed highway will hugely affect their economies and also ours. Yes, we can add a good rail link which will be far shorter than rail links from China. I appreciate that you mentioned it.
 
We (Pakistanis) always talk about geopolitical importance of our country. I think the right way to realize this geopolitical importance is, not by forcing governments on these countries like we tried in Afghanistan, but by realizing economic opportunities for these countries through our own country. A trade route will benefit Balochistan (which is heart of Pakistan), for Afghanistan, not to mention central Asian states themselves. It will bring all these people of different countries closer forever and I think this would be the best way of realizing our geopolitical importance.
 
Very positive development. It will definitely generate economic activity in the country.
 
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