CPEC brings Pakistan billions in direct investment

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has brought Pakistan direct investment totaling 25.4 billion U.S. dollars over the past eight years, a senior official with China's economic planner said.

The corridor, a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), also created many job opportunities, said Ning Jizhe. Ning is deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, and he made the remarks at the 10th Joint Cooperation Committee meeting of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between China and Pakistan, Ning said that the ministry would focus on the corridor's construction, with measures to improve the utilization rate of existing infrastructure and enhance bilateral cooperation in technology, agriculture, and other sectors.

Efforts would be made to build the corridor into a demonstration project for the high-quality development of the BRI and encourage the building of a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future, Ning said.

The meeting established a joint working group on information technology. About 200 representatives from governments, financial institutions, enterprises, and public institutions attended the meeting.