Strategic Connectivity of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) under Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

Abstract

The Long-Term Plan (LTP) of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor puts connectivity at the core of the whole corridor’s projects and future initiatives. Within the CPEC it is defined as the link between the space (Chinese and Pakistani territories) and the economic opportunities that lie in. Connectivity creates the basis for strategic underpinnings throughout the Chinese and Pakistani lands and within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects that the CPEC links. As part of the BRI, CPEC becomes one major security, trade, finance and infrastructure connectivity asset which links the South Asian region to Europe, Middle East and Africa, in the attempt to strategically encompass their lands into one compact security- and trade-related area. This article is a brief outline of the strategic connectivity and mobility along the CPEC as part of the BRI and its significance to the regional environment.