By Samia Khalid ISLAMABAD, Nov 08 (INP-WealthPK): China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one of the greatest initiatives in South Asia, with a commitment of over $62 billion. CPEC is a framework for regional connectivity and will not only benefit China and Pakistan, but also have a positive impact on the region, including Iran, Afghanistan, and the Central Asian Republics. CPEC exemplifies China-Pakistan friendship with enhanced geographical linkages through an improved network of roads, railways, and air transportation systems. This begins from China's westernmost city Kashgar to Pakistan’s major cities before connecting to the deep-water ports at Gwadar and Karachi. CPEC was officially launched in 2015 between the two Iron Brothers. For China, it will provide a safe route; while for Pakistan, it will bring enough foreign investment to develop its remote western cities and to help stimulate economic growth. CPEC was originally envisioned as a three-stage development plan by Chinese and Pakistani policymakers. Between 2016 and 2020, the first phase of investment focused on removing supply bottlenecks in the energy and transportation sectors. Investments will be focused on industrial collaboration in the second phase, which will last through 2025. At the end of 2030, investments will turn to improving bilateral and regional connections in the third stage (CPEC Authority Official). The energy sector is the primary recipient of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) through CPEC and is slated to receive over $30 billion, or 72 percent of total Chinese investment, over the next decade. These energy projects will help overcome Pakistan’s energy shortage of almost 7,000MW. Moreover, 3,870MW electricity projects are in progress and almost five similar projects are also in the pipeline, providing Pakistan with an opportunity to emerge as an energy hub in the region (CPEC Authority Official). Most of the Chinese FDI into Pakistan has come from state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Pakistani policymakers believe that this situation will change, and private Chinese firms will invest in the manufacturing sector in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) that are being developed in different parts of the country. Private Chinese investment in the manufacturing sector will increase Pakistan’s exports and support the upgrading of local firms, helping them become part of dynamic global value chains. Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan with an important place in CPEC. With the development of Gwadar port, it is the main part of the trade hub. Recently, a Pakistan-China vocational institute has been completed in Gwadar in just 20 months at a cost of $10 million. The institute has been equipped with state-of-the-art machinery to provide the best technical education and skills to the youth of Balochistan (CPEC Authority Official). The economy of Pakistan has been facing problems since 2018. It started recovering at the end of 2019 but unfortunately, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic hit its economy hard. It was due to the prudent policies of the government that the damage inflicted by the pandemic was successfully controlled and the country began galloping on the path to economic stability. China also successfully achieved the goal of eliminating extreme poverty due to timely measures, decisive leadership, and cooperation of its people. Both countries are now ready to enter the second phase. The scale of this initiative is too big to fail.