China and Pakistan Jointly Open New International Trade Route

       

Pakistan China: Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, center left, and Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, fourth right, pray after inaugurating a new international trade route during a ceremony at Gwadar port, about 435 miles, 700 km, west of Karachi. Pa

Pakistan and China this week activated a new international trade route through the southwestern Pakistani port of Gwadar to showcase a multi-billion-dollar economic cooperation agreement between the two close allies. Pakistani and Chinese officials gathered Sunday at the port to welcome the first convoy of trucks from China. Containers were loaded on two Chinese ships before they sailed to overseas destinations from Gwadar.

Chinese officials say CPEC is "the major and pilot project of the Belt and Road” initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping.

Beijing's $46 billion investment under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will lead to construction of road, rail and communication networks and power projects in Pakistan along the route linking China's western Xinjiang region to Gwadar.

It will ultimately turn the deep water Gwadar port, developed with Chinese financial and technical assistance, into a gateway for imports and exports from Xinjiang to international markets.

The port sits at the convergence of three of the world’s most commercially important regions, the oil-rich Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia. It also lies at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, just outside the Strait of Hormuz.

Pakistani leaders hope the economic corridor will bring development and prosperity to billions of people in the region.