Written by: Omer Qayyum and Amna Javed
Posted on: January 13, 2015 | 
| 中文
Silk Road Map
Agreement on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) holds great strategic and economic importance for both China and Pakistan; with this in view, Youlin Magazine is undertaking a series of articles on ‘Journeying Down the Silk Road’. Each fortnightly article of the series will inform its readers about the regions that lie along the route of the corridor and explore a new city: starting from Sost in the mountainous north, and journeying southwards, all the way to the port city of Gwadar. The series will examine economic, tourism and trade opportunities, and explore the little known rich cultural and historical background of these towns and cities.
The German geologist Ferdinand von Richthofen coined the term ‘Silk Road’ in 1877 for the trade route that connected East, South and Southeast Asia with the Mediterranean, North Africa and Europe. In addition to being a travel route, it was also a medium for cultural exchange. The current initiative of the CPEC will bring about a socio-economic transformation of the region as a whole, and strengthen economic linkages between China and Pakistan. Gwadar Port will act as a catalyst for infrastructure development in Baluchistan, and has the potential to generate job and business opportunities for the locals.
The road and rail link from Xinjiang to Gwadar will provide China access to the Persian Gulf, one of the most important oil corridors in the world. Since China is the largest global oil importer, the corridor will be able to reduce thousands of miles in transportation and save millions of dollars. Chinese trade will be more secure through the corridor than its present trade route through the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Currently, western parts of China are relatively less developed as compared to the Eastern Coastal areas, but the path of the corridor will provide an opportunity to generate an economic boom in western China.
After the construction of this new commercial trade corridor between China and Pakistan, the annual bilateral trade volume between both countries which currently stands at US $14 billion, is expected to rise to US $ 20 billion annually.
We begin next week with the first Pakistani town along the route of the CPEC, Sost.
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