China’s belt and road initiative - issues and concerns over the china-pakistan economic corridor

Recent attacks in the Uri Sector allegedly by Pakistani militants, has raised Chinese concerns over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Increasing efforts by Pakistan to internationalize the Kashmir issue has caused considerable anxiety and concerns within the Chinese administration. The CPEC which connects the Pakistani port in Gwadar with Kashgar in Xinjiang, China, has tremendous potential to supply China with energy and is set to become an important economic corridor which would connect China with the Central Asian region. The port of Gwadar which is not far from the Strait of Hormutz near the Persian Gulf allows the Chinese to monitor it sea lines of communication through which 60 percent of its crude supply from west Asia is transported to China. This also helps in the reduced dependence of China on the Straits of Malacca. While there is much gain through the completion of CPEC, there remains a host of issues which pose significant challenges towards this $46 billion project. In this paper, I examine the emergence of the bilateral agreement and the issues and challenges which are significant in this regard. More importantly in terms of the challenges, this paper would look into the Kashmir issue which seems to be posing real obstacle with regard to the future of the CPEC. Thus, the paper would examine (i) the importance of CPEC, (ii) impact of the CPEC in the context of Pakistan’s engagement in Kashmir and (iii) challenges which are of concern in terms of the completion and (iv) future of the CPEC in the context of existing militancy in the region (Baluchistan, Kashmir and also in the Xinjiang province).