CPEC may be hit by terror, feudal politics and delays: Scholar

Multiple security issues and political uncertainties mark the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a top Chinese scholar has said, adding opinion is divided on the viability of the project both in the short and long term.

The CPEC, whose cost has been projected at more than $46 billion, cuts through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK), leading to protests from India over the issue of sovereignty.

Despite New Delhi’s concerns, China has pumped billions of dollars into the corridor, making it a flagship and prestige project under President Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since he announced it in 2013.

But is the CPEC turning into a corridor of uncertainty?

“China and Pakistan share the belief that economic development can help stabilise Pakistan and improve its domestic security situation. However, China also recognises that the security, political, and cultural risks and uncertainties facing the economic corridor cannot be overlooked,” Shi Zhiqin, executive dean of the newly opened One Belt, One Road Strategic Institute in Beijing, wrote in a paper.

Terror, political infighting and attempts by Pakistani political parties to divide the “CPEC cake” have already caused substantial delays, Shi wrote in the widely circulated paper titled “The Benefits and Risks of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor”.

In an interview to HT, Shi explained: “From the economic point, is it (CPEC) worth it? There is division in China. Some say there is great potential economic benefit and some disagree. This is a long-term project. In the shortterm, we can’t see much benefit. But in the long-term, maybe it is beneficial.”

Terrorism is among the multiple problems facing the corridor and “there have been many terrorist attacks in Pakistan,” he said. In the paper, he noted that Chinese nationals have been attacked or killed in Pakistan.

The country’s volatile domestic politics is another worry, according to Shi.