This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and of the launch of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of the BRI. The past decade has witnessed remarkable achievements in the construction of the CPEC, in terms of policy, infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity. Among them, infrastructure connectivity has a special role to play as it is not only an important part of the connectivity, but also the foundation and premise of cooperation in other fields.

On Nov. 13, 2016, the Gwadar Port in southwest Pakistan officially goes into operation. The picture shows China's COSCO crew members and Pakistani security guards posing for a group photo at the port.

As the chief leader of the Chinese motorcade team, I was involved in the entire process of the inaugural China-Pakistan motorcade ride along the CPEC in 2016. I am greatly honored and proud to be a part of this trip. This important moment gives me an opportunity to reflect on the unforgettable experience.

When it began

In May 2016, then Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif visited Beijing and met with his Chinese counterpart. On the eve of his departure from Beijing, a Pakistani military spokesman revealed the plan of the CPEC within the year. In July, the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) of the Pakistan Army came to me and expressed the hope to cooperate with the Xinjiang branch of Sinotrans & CSC Holdings Co., where I was the general manager, to organize a freight motorcade for the first trial run along the CPEC around November. The motorcade was to transport goods from Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, to Pakistan's Gwadar Port, the southern end of the CPEC. The goods were then to be shipped to Iran, Dubai and other locations via the Gwadar Port. FWO emphasized that the program would be personally led by General Raheel Sharif, and specifically organized and implemented by FWO, aiming at publicizing the progress of the CPEC construction, enhancing the confidence of the two peoples, and telling the world that the corridor is ready for more business.