China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng, who also holds a seat on the Politburo of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, arrived in Pakistan to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Lifeng and four other ministers will stay in Islamabad for three days as part of the celebratory visit.
Minister of Interior Rana Sanaullah and Minister of Planning Development & Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal greeted the Chinese delegation at the airport. As President Xi Jinping’s special envoy, Lifeng will engage with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday and be the chief guest in the anniversary event recognizing a decade of CPEC.
The event will also commend Chinese companies for significantly contributing to CPEC projects. This diplomatic interaction was organized following an invitation extended by Islamabad to the representative of the Chinese government.
A Decade of CPEC: Journey and Impact
He Lifeng has been a key figure in China’s international economic relations, playing a substantial role in realising the Belt and Road Initiative, where CPEC stands as a cornerstone project. This visit is part of the ongoing high-level discourse between Pakistan and China, underscoring both nations’ commitment to deepen their “All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership.”
Launched in 2013 under then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the multi-billion-dollar CPEC endeavour was conceived as the flagship project of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The primary objective of CPEC is to capitalize on Pakistan’s strategic location for economic benefits, primarily through improved regional and economic integration.
CPEC comprises many projects, including physical and digital connectivity, power generation, and promoting industrialization via special economic zones. The project was established after thorough research and discussions between Chinese and Pakistani government representatives, with the implementation plan spanning the early harvest phase (2018), short-term projects (2020), medium-term phase (2025), and long-term phase (2030).
Through this visit, both nations seek to reaffirm support for each other’s core interests, intensify economic and financial cooperation, drive high-quality CPEC development, and explore new avenues to fortify trade and investment ties.
