CPEC to be extended to Afghanistan

The controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – the flagship project of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – is being extended to Afghanistan the Asian Competitiveness Annual Report stated.
The report was released here on the sidelines of China’s Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference. The BFA was formed by China in 2001 on the lines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, and holds its meeting every year.
The BRI has injected “fresh vitality” to Asia’s economic cooperation and helped the continent to reshape its international relations. China in December 2017 had unveiled its plans to extend the $50 billion CPEC to Afghanistan which has sparked concerns in India.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his meeting with his Pakistan and Afghan counterparts had offered to extend CPEC to Afghanistan.
The multi-billion-dollar BRI, the pet project of Mr. Xi has become a major stumbling block in India-China relations as CPEC has been listed as its “flagship project”.

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“Belt and Road” is a massive trade and infrastructure project that aims to link China — physically and financially — to dozens of economies across Asia, Europe, Africa, and Oceania. It was initially called One Belt and One Road (OBOR), but in mid-2016 the official English name was changed to the Belt and Road Initiative.
The main focuses of the “Belt and Road” initiative – also known as “One Belt, One Road” – are in infrastructure, transportation, and energy. It consists of two parts: The “Belt,” which recreates an old Silk Road land route, and the “Road,” which is not actually a road, but a route through various oceans.
The Silk Road was an ancient land route across Europe and Asia that connected traders and travellers from regions like the China, Persia, and the Roman Empire. Merchants used to transport silk and other commodities by camel or horse along those roads.
As of January 2018, 71 countries (including China) are taking part in the project. They include India, Pakistan, Poland, Turkey, New Zealand, and Russia. Altogether, these 71 countries represent a third of the world’s GDP.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $62 billion China funded ‘flagship project’ within China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),.The CPEC connects western China with Gwadar port on Pakistan’s southern coastline in Baluchistan province. Along the Corridor route, the plan envisages connectivity thorough road and rail networks, power production units and Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s).
CPEC, amongst all the BRI land and sea corridors, will set the tone for others. That is why China is dedicated to the goal of having the project completed in three phases by 2030. Involving only one country – Pakistan, the CPEC provides China with direct access to the Indian Ocean. The route shortens western China’s distance to the Arabian Sea from 13,000 km to just 3,000 and cuts the transit time from 45 days to only 10.
India has protested to China over CPEC, which is being built through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Source: The Hindu