Gwadar port a watershed in China and Pakistan ties

islamabad - Event also marks opening of the first segment of the $51b CPEC

China and Pakistan have sailed into the Arabian Sea and are waiting to shake hands with the UAE and the rest of the world across the Straits of Hormuz. Making marine shipping and political history, two ships sailed from the new Pakistani port of Gwadar into the Arabian Sea.

China and Pakistan are tapping the most important energy-rich markets in the world - the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Africa - with two ships - MV Cosco Willington and MV Al Hussein - sailing into the Arabian Sea from the new Pakistani port of Gwadar, destined for the Middle East and African ports. The occasion is a watershed moment.

It also marked the opening of the first segment of the $51 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Gwadar and the CPEC are the lynchpins of making this region a big economic zone. It will cover the whole of China, Central Asian Republics, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east, UAE and Saudi Arabia in the South, Iran in the west and Turkey-EU in the northwest.

The CPEC reduces the sea route from Shanghai to the UAE to a few kilometers. Eyeing the massive business opportunities, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey have offered to join the CPEC zone. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Islamabad to take the deal forward.

The western Chinese city of Kashgar won the distinction of being the first to use the pilot project in the new land-sea route.

Geo-strategic location
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the CPEC, of which Gwadar is the southern-most terminal, has become a reality with the start of shipment of trade cargo from this new port.

"The CPEC project enjoys a unique geo-strategic location, standing at the crossroads of three major engines of growth, including South Asia, China and Central Asia. It will change the fate of three billion people in the region. It will also serve as the hub of a major trade zone," he said.

Pakistan has already allocated land for the Gwadar free trade zone, with special tax and tariff concessions. The exclusive industrial park, processing zone and mineral economic zone are being implemented on a fast-track basis.

Sharif described the Gwadar-CPEC project and arrival of the Chinese cargo-container convoy as "break of a new dawn" and "a watershed event."

Sharif said: "I applaud the role of Chinese President Xi's [Jinping] vision of regional prosperity which coincides with Pakistan's vision of Deevelopment-2020. President Xi's vision of shared prosperity through greater connectivity is the need of the hour in a conflict-ridden and polarised world."

President Jinping said: "Our concept of 'one-belt, one-road' aims at integrating trade and commercial activities of regional countries through enhanced connectivity. It will transform Pakistan into a major hub of trade." The message was read out at the inauguration of Gwadar port by Ambassador Sun Weidong.

The ambassador said it is for the first time that a trade cargo has successfully passed through from the north of China to the south of Pakistan and onto the Arabian Sea.

"This is also for the first time that China and Pakistan have co-organised a trade convoy through Pakistan to Gwadar port. The local people will get jobs. It proves that connectivity of local roads will be beneficial to all."

The project officials said that 125 Chinese cargo trucks had entered Pakistan through the border post of Sust. They also said an air link between the Chinese city of Kashgar and Pakistani city of Skardu will be established. Yet another air link will connect the Chinese city of Urumqi with the Pakistani city of Gilgit to facilitate trade of Chinese goods through Gwadar.

The writer is based in Islamabad. Views expressed are his own and do not reflect the newspaper's policy.

• Pakistan