GEO-ECONOMIC DIMENSION OF THE CHINA PAKISTAN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR ITS REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

In a zero-sum environment, the power and role of a state is considerably impacted by its location that helps to settle social, economic, and political affairs of the world. Pakistan`s location is very important. On one side, it shares its boundaries with world two big economies i.e., China and India. On the other side, it has access to world’s oil and gas enriched countries (Iran and Central Asian Republics). CPEC is a multibillion project, that is a step towards close relations between China and Pakistan and to bring together South and East Asian Nations to cooperate and collaborate in terms of trade, currency, culture exchange, energy, and infrastructure. Pakistan is sandwiched between two blocs of states. One bloc possesses vast energy resources whereas the other has the need of energies for their growing economies. Hence, CPEC has the potential to connect China, Pakistan, India, Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asian Republics and further Russia and Europe. In such scenario, the role of Gwadar port is very significant. It is this significance that gives CPEC a buckling status that buckles all the Belt and Road Corridors. Therefore, the project is in turn a reshaping of Super Pangaea in partial economically, politically, and socially. The research attempts to explore the geo-strategic importance of CPEC.