PEC is not a completely novel idea  CPEC不只是个全新的理念
By Zamir Ahmed Awan
Published: June 16, 2017
  
The writer is a professor at the Chinese Studies Centre of Excellence, NUST, Islamabad, and has worked as a diplomat in the Pakistan Embassy, Beijing (2010-2016)
作者系巴基斯坦国家科技大学中国研究中心教授，巴基斯坦驻中国大使馆外交官。
As Chinese philosophy decisively asserts, “you cannot live in a castle made of glass while your neighbour lives in the stone ages”. This maxim offers a stark contrast to the case of the United States, a highly developed state that faces tremendous migration problems from its neighbours Mexico and Puerto Rico due to the existence of a glaring development gap in the region. Instead of increasing aid to these destitute countries, the current US administration is considering the construction of a “wall” to keep migrants out. There has not been a conclusive agreement upon which side of the border will bear the financial burden of this project. On the contrary, in accordance with the Chinese wisdom aforementioned, the Chinese mega project, One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, worth approximately $900 billion, is a regional plan which will enrich the entire Euro-Asiatic region, including China.
正如中国哲学所言，“你不能住在玻璃制的城堡里，而你的邻居住在石器时代。”这句格言与美国的情况形成了一个鲜明的对比，这个高度发达的国家正面临着来自邻国墨西哥和波多黎各的巨大的移民问题，显然这些国家与其发展存在着差距。但是目前美国政府正在考虑修建一堵“墙”来阻止移民外出，而不是增加对这些贫困国家的援助，这一项目的财政负担方，现在还没有一个决定性的协议。相反，与前面提到的智慧一致，中国的一带一路战略，这项价值约9000亿美元的区域性的计划，将有利于整个欧亚地区，包括中国。
OBOR is a regional connectivity strategy that comprises 65 countries and six economic corridors and caters to two-thirds of the world’s population. It aims to improve infrastructure in these countries and enhance the movement of goods and people, promoting trade and exchange, generating more economic activities and employment opportunities for the whole region. This will definitely better the standard of living for people in this region of the world. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one of the six economic corridors proposed under the OBOR initiative. It is the shortest, most convenient and most feasible corridor, among them all. It is also the flagship project, as both governments attribute high value to its success, and are striving to make it the prototype for the rest of the world.
一带一路是一项区域连通的战略，包含65个国家和六大经济走廊，惠及世界三分之二的人口。它旨在改善这些国家的基础设施，提高货物和人民的流动，促进贸易和交流，为整个区域创造更多的经济活动和就业机会，这毫无疑问会改善这个地区人民的生活水平。中国-巴基斯坦经济走廊正是在一带一路倡议下提出的六个经济走廊的其中之一。这也是最短、最方便、最可行的经济走廊。同时还是一个旗舰项目，两国政府都对它的成功寄予厚望，并致力于使之成为世界其他国家的蓝本。
CPEC is not a completely novel idea. It was introduced by the first Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, General Geng Biao, in the 1960s. Geng was a visionary diplomat, general, and politician. He proposed the road linkage between China and Pakistan through Khunjerab. That is how the Karakoram Highway came to fruition.This highway was a blessing for the people of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) because prior to its construction, locals used to travel by foot or horseback to reach Punjab and the journey often took a couple of months. With the commencement of this road, the travel was reduced to less than 24 hours. The topography of G-B encompasses a very tough terrain, high altitudes (Khunjerab Pass lies at approximately 4000m above the sea level), solid hard rocks, mountains, and extreme climate (some of the areas have minus 50 degree Celsius). Thus, the construction of the Karakoram Highway was a miracle and it is considered the eighth wonder of the world. Due to budgetary constraints and the lack of modern technology, however, the quality of the road was rather poor, with many sharp curves and steep slopes. The average speed of a vehicle could not be more than 40 kilometres per hour. But recently, the highway has been upgraded and a decent speed of 120 kilometres per hour can be maintained. Nevertheless, some sections of the Karakoram Highway are still under construction and hopefully, within the next couple of years, it will turn into a proper motorway.
CPEC并不是一个全新的想法。于19世纪60年代由中国驻巴基斯坦大使耿彪将军首次提出，耿彪将军是一位富有远见的外交家、军事家和政治家。他提出了修筑一条穿越红其拉甫以连通中国与巴基斯坦的公路，于是喀喇昆仑公路诞生了。这条公路受到吉尔吉特-巴尔蒂斯坦地区的人民的一致赞美，因为在此之前，他们需要徒步或骑马才能到达位于印度的旁遮普，而路途通常要花费几个月。随着这条路的开通，路途花费会少于24个小时。但是，这里的地貌复杂，包括艰险的地势，极高的海拔（红其拉甫口岸位于约4000m以上的海平面），坚固的岩石和山脉还有极端的气候（有些地区达到零下50摄氏度）。因此，喀喇昆仑公路的建设是一个伟大的工程，它被认为是世界第八奇迹。然而，由于预算的限制和现代技术的缺乏，道路的质量还很差，还有许多陡峭的曲面和险峻的斜坡，车辆的平均时速不得超过40公里。不过最近，公路已经升级，可以保持每小时120公里的正常速度。然而，喀喇昆仑公路的一些路段仍在施工，希望在未来几年内，它将变成一个更加便利的高速公路。
Advertisement
Under CPEC, a huge network of highways and motorways are in progress. The ML1 railway track from Karachi to Peshawar is being upgraded. Some tunnels and bridges are under construction to maintain the high speed of trains and shorten distances. A huge dry port linked by railway and motorway is under construction at Havelian, which will be a logistic hub for CPEC in the future.
在中国-巴基斯坦经济走廊的规划下，一项高速公路网络建设工程取得了进步。Karachi到Peshawar的铁路线正在升级，为了提速和缩短路程，一些隧道和桥梁在建设中。连接铁路和高速公路的大型陆路口岸正在赫韦利扬建设，这里即将成为战略规划下的交通枢纽。
Oil and gas pipelines are now in an advanced stage of completion throughout the country. One of them is an oil and gas pipeline from Gwadar to Nawabshah constructed by a Chinese company, and another from Karachi to Lahore is under the initial stages of construction by a Russian company. In the future, transportation of energy (oil, gas, LNG, etc) will be conveniently transported by pipelines, instead of with costly trucks that cause pollution. In the next few years, these pipelines will also be transporting oil and gas from Gwadar to inside China through Khunjerab, at a fraction of the cost of the sea containers going through Malacca Strait. Even if China imports only ten per cent of its requirements through CPEC pipelines, Pakistan will be earning billions of dollars in revenue, and this makes it a win-win situation for both countries.
贯穿全国的石油和天然气管道现在正进行到后期完成阶段，一些从Gwadar到 Nawabshah的管道由中国公司负责，另一些Karachi到Lahore的管道由俄罗斯的公司负责建设，工程处于初级阶段。在未来，能源的运输工作（石油，天然气，液化天然气等等）将会通过管道更加便捷地运输，而不是使用会导致污染并且价格高昂的卡车。在接下来几年，这些管道会穿过Khunjerab从Gwadar到中国内陆运输油气，花费只占从马六甲海峡走水路运输的很小部分。虽然中国只通过CPEC管道进口百分之十的需求量，但巴基斯坦会获得数十亿美元的收入，这对于两国来说是一个双赢的局面。
Among the 51 projects signed during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jin Ping, priority was given to power projects that amounted to a total worth of 33 billion. Some of these power projects have been completed and have begun adding power to the National Grid. However, several of the mega projects will take some time to complete. Upon completion of these projects, it is expected that Pakistan will have sufficient power, and there will be no more shortage of power. The next stage of CPEC is under planning, also referred to as the “industrialisation” phase. The Chinese industrial sector is saturated and increasing labour cost is forcing Chinese industries to shift out of China. Pakistan is the best destination for the Chinese industry. Pakistan is planning industrial parks, special economic zones and science parks to facilitate the flourishing of the Chinese industry in Pakistan. After overcoming the power shortage, the shifting of Chinese industries into Pakistan will be accelerated.
在中国国家主席习近平来访所签署的51个项目中，总值330亿的发电站项目得到首要关注。一些项目已经完成，已经开始增加电力。然而，一些大型项目仍需一段时间完工。通过这些项目的完工，巴基斯坦会获得足够的电力，不会产生电力短缺。CPEC的下一阶段正在计划中，被称为“工业化”阶段。巴基斯坦正在计划建设工业园区、特别经济区和科学园区来促进中国在巴工业的繁荣发展。
CPEC will directly or indirectly generate around two million jobs. In the beginning, Chinese workforce will be hired in Pakistan, but gradually within a few years once Pakistan trains its workforce to the Chinese standard, Pakistanis will replace the workforce. Chinese industry will increase our productivity, reduce our imports, and enhance our exports. The economy will grow on an unprecedented scale. It will also improve the security situation in Pakistan as well as in the whole region. The aforementioned is possible if we unite and work hard. We need visionary and sincere leadership to execute this. The common man in Pakistan is honest, simple, hardworking and willing to devote himself to the cause of a prosperous nation.
CPEC将会直接或间接地创造约两百万就业岗位。项目初期，中国劳动力将被雇佣到巴基斯坦工作，但几年内一旦巴基斯坦渐渐地按照中国的标准训练出一批本国工人，就会替换掉这批中国工人。中国工业会提高我们的生产力，减少我们的进口，提高我们的出口。我们的经济会达到前所未有的规模。这也会提高巴基斯坦以及整个地区的安全局势。只要我们团结一致努力奋斗，上述内容将会成为可能。我们需要有远见和真诚的领导力来执行它。巴基斯坦的群众是诚实善良，勤劳勇敢，并愿意奉献自己投入到祖国繁荣发展的事业中去的。
Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2017.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1436563/understanding-china-pakistan-economic-corridor/

---