Pakistan-China Relations in the Big Context of the “Belt and Road Initiative”

The “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) is a massive infrastructure investment plan with a long-lasting strategic rational in its essence, namely the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) imply potential political consequences on the geopolitical basis and the regional balance of power, given that C...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: João Adriano Lopes
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Observatório Político 2020-10-01
Series:Political Observer
Subjects:
Online Access:http://rpcp.pt/index.php/rpcp/article/view/75
Description
Summary:The “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) is a massive infrastructure investment plan with a long-lasting strategic rational in its essence, namely the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) imply potential political consequences on the geopolitical basis and the regional balance of power, given that China-Pakistan relations converge on a common adversary — India. Nevertheless, China-Pakistan relations converged in the CPEC brings strategic assets for both of them, mostly to China, addressing the fact that this project implies a big shift of strategic Chinese thought, in the sense that it envisions alternative routes for the energy resources transportation, trade and, all together, Chinese influence in the Central Asia and Middle East area, at the same time, bringing development with consequences to these countries. Altogether, CPEC, and BRI in general, makes India very aware and apprehensive of this reality and the power shift of the regional balance of power to China, making the former respond with projects of its own. So, the strategic thought of China materialized by BRI will have serious consequences to the region, mostly to India.
ISSN:2795-4757
2795-4765