Chinese President Xi Jinping on July 31, 2023, sent a congratulatory letter to the Decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) celebration event held in Islamabad, Pakistan. In the letter, President Xi said the CPEC constituted an important pioneering project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Since its launch in 2013, China and Pakistan have been advancing the CPEC under the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and have achieved a number of early harvests. This has added new impetus to Pakistan's economic and social development and laid a solid foundation for regional connectivity and integration. The CPEC has been a vivid testament to the all-weather friendship between China and Pakistan and provided an important underpinning for building a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

Trucks carrying daily necessities, agricultural products and equipment depart Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, Aug. 22, 2023. [Photo by Cai Zengle/China News Service]

Propelling Pakistan's economic growth

Since the launch of the CPEC 10 years ago, the National Development and Reform Commission, as the leading body on the Chinese side, has worked in close coordination with Pakistan's Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives on the development plan of the corridor. Under the overall coordination of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of the CPEC, relevant Chinese ministries and enterprises have worked together with Pakistani counterparts to ensure the arrangement and implementation of the CPEC projects and funds and have made substantial progress. After President Xi's visit to Pakistan in 2015, the secretariats of the JCC on both sides have had six video conferences and two joint working group meetings to follow up the successful outcomes of the visit. In 2016, the Pakistani government decided to establish a steering committee to oversee the implementation of the CPEC. In 2017, the Long-Term Plan for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (2017–2030) was officially released, connecting China's BRI and Pakistan's national development plan "Vision 2025." The short-term, mid-term and long-term projects listed in the plan were expected to be completed by 2020, 2025 and 2030, respectively.