ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday announced the launch of the second phase of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) during an investment conference in Beijing, vowing to safeguard Chinese nationals working in the country and accelerate stalled projects.
Sharif was in China on a six-day visit that began with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) heads of state summit in Tianjin earlier this week. He has since held talks with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as met Chinese business leaders at a large investment forum.
CPEC, first signed in 2015, is a multi-billion-dollar network of roads, railways, ports and power plants linking western China to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan. A flagship of President Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Pakistan’s Planning Commission (CPEC Secretariat) reported last year that completed and ongoing CPEC projects were worth about $25.4 billion, with another $8 billion under implementation, putting the total Chinese investment at around $33 billion so far.
The scheme’s second phase, branded “CPEC 2.0,” aims to expand beyond roads and energy into industry, agriculture, information technology and special economic zones, with Islamabad looking to revive growth and attract new Chinese capital.
