CSS 2017 Solved Pakistan Affairs Past Papers | CPEC is a Flagship Project of One Belt One Road (OBOR) and a Regional Game Changer. Explain
The following question of CSS Pakistan Affairs 2017 is solved by Khadija Yaseen under the supervision of Miss Nirmal Hasni. She learnt how to attempt 20 marks question and essay writing from Sir Syed Kazim Ali, Pakistan’s best CSS and PMS English essay and precis teacher with the highest success rate of his students. This solved past paper question is attempted on the pattern taught by Sir to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory and optional subjects for years, and uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, how to write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Outline
1- Introduction
- ✓One Belt One Road is a China’s China’s multitrillion-dollar venture spanning continents.
- ✓ The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a crown jewel of OBOR, holds the potential to achieve myriad strategic, political, and economic goals.
- ✓CPEC serves as a harbinger of regional connectivity, economic prosperity, and cooperation
2- What are One Belt, One Road and CPEC?
3- How does CPEC fulfil the goals of BRI, making it a flagship project of OBOR?
- ✓Strategic and political goals
- Reducing the Malacca Strait dilemma by providing an alternative route for China to access Middle East and Central Asian Republics
- Enabling China to make its strong footholds in the Indian Ocean to challenge India’s hegemonic influence in the Ocean by providing direct access to the Indian Ocean
- Politically, promoting Beijing Consensus through its project of investment in infrastructure and its principle of state-led economic development project.
- ✓Economic goals
- Leading to the cheap manufacturing of products by providing China with the cost-effective, shortest and most secure route to the Gulf states
- Leading to the development of underdeveloped western Chinese regions by connecting Kashgar to Gwadar port
- Strengthening the economy by opening the ways for trans-continental trade through the development of Gwadar port
4- What factors prove CPEC is a regional game changer?
- ✓Providing a framework for regional integration by connecting South Asian states with Central Asian and Middle Eastern states through infrastructural projects of CPEC
- ✓Prospering region economically by bringing trade opportunities, especially for landlocked states, such as Afghanistan and Central Asian states
- ✓Safeguarding the region from Western influence by empowering China’s influence in the region
- ✓Leading to peace, prosperity, and stability in the region by taking regional states at the common grounds of economic cooperation
5- Conclusion
Answer to the Question
CPEC is a Flagship Project of One Belt One Road
One Belt One Road(OBOR) is China’s multi-million-dollar venture that spans continents, aiming to enhance connectivity, infrastructure, regional and global economic cooperation, and trade avenues via its six corridors. Amongst the six corridors, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) stands as the crown jewel of OBOR. To illustrate, CPEC, the flagship project, holds the potential to achieve myriad strategic, political, and economic goals of BRI. Strategically, it has successfully navigated the Malacca Strait dilemma, enabling China to make its strong footholds in the Indian Ocean to challenge the Indian hegemony. Politically, this project has the potential to pursue Beijing consensus. Moreover, from an economic perspective within OBOR, the flagship project saves manufacturing costs of products by facilitating shorter and more secure trade routes from Asia to the Middle East. Additionally, it not only develops underdeveloped parts of China but also opens new doors for transcontinental trade. Having been a hallmark of the Belt and Road initiative, CPEC has emerged as a regional game-changer in multiple aspects. It serves as a harbinger of regional connectivity due to its massive infrastructure projects. Further, it has unlocked avenues for regional trade, especially for landlocked states. At last, it has not only strengthened China’s influence in Asia to safeguard the region from Western powers but also laid out a framework of regional economic cooperation. In short, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is the jugular vein of OBOR.
Success of the OBOR initiative is contingent upon success of the CPEC to a large extent, and if it fails, by any means, the OBOR initiative will be the hardest hit.”
Chinese foreign minister, Qin Gang
Before explaining how CPEC is a flagship project of OBOR, it is imperative to discuss the goals of BRI. To begin with, it has both strategic and economic objectives. Strategically, reducing dependency on traditional trade routes and getting access to the Indian Ocean to challenge India are prime goals. However, politically, it has set an agenda to promote the Beijing Consensus against Western Black Diamond. Economically, moving towards shorter and more secure routes to reduce manufacturing costs, developing Chinese western regions, and strengthening the economy via transcontinental connectivity.
Coming towards CPEC potential that has made it a flagship project of BRI, although it is one of the six corridors of OBOR, it alone is capable of carrying out numerous strategic, political and economic goals. To illustrate, from a strategic perspective, through CPEC, the communist state has found an alternative, safe, and shorter route in comparison to the Malacca strait route, which is highly polarized and unsecured. This Corridor connects Kashgar to Gwadar port, which directly links China with Middle Eastern and Central Asian states via the Arabian Sea, reducing the Malacca strait dilemma for the world’s biggest trading state whose 70 per cent of its energy supply passes through the South China Sea.
Besides, the connectivity of China with Gwadar port through the CPEC project enables China to make its strong footholds in the Indian Ocean. The project includes infrastructure projects of railways, roads, highways, etc., that have empowered China enough to access the Indian Ocean. Undoubtedly, India has been China’s biggest rival in this region, and for the future, it is the communist state’s need to strengthen its strategic position to challenge Indian hegemonic influence in the Ocean that clearly depends on the CPEC project.
Except this, politically, the Corridor’s significant aspect of promoting Beijing consensus has marked it as the flagship project of OBOR. This project portrays the picture of state-led development and win-win cooperation, which is one of the Beijing Consensus aspects. Moreover, the Corridor is totally based on the approach of investment and building infrastructure, which is known as the hallmark of China’s development model against the Western one. Hence, this project holds immense significance for the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative.
Along with strategic and political perspectives, the economic perspective stands as one of the crucial goals of BRI that can be achieved through CPEC. First, this Corridor provides a short route to China for trade with Gulf states. In fact, China’s trade route is 16000km, which leads to costly manufacturing, while the trade route through CPEC accounts for 5000km, which reduces the cost by one-third. Therefore, this leads to cheap manufacturing of projects that help the country in its export-oriented approach.
Moreover, the CPEC project is 3218 km long from Kashgar to the Gwadar corridor, which includes the construction of roads, railways, pipelines and special economic zones. Moreover, it aims to connect China’s north-western region of Xinjiang through a long network of this infrastructure development, reducing the remoteness of underdeveloped western regions by facilitating trade, transportation, and economic activities.
Last but not least, CPEC has opened direct routes for transcontinental trade through its core project of Gwadar port development, which includes operationalization of the port via the establishment of free economic zones, dredging of ports, and construction of the East Buy Expressway. This makes it easier for China to access international markets, strengthening the BRI’s aim of making China the world’s largest economy by integrating into the world economy.
Turning towards the CPEC role at the regional level, CPEC is not only a flagship project of OBOR; it has turned out to be a regional game changer in numerous ways. To begin with, this Corridor has connected South Asian states, particularly Pakistan, with Central Asian states through its connectivity network. This leads to regional integration of Asian states, which ultimately empowers them to stand together for regional progress. Besides, regionally, it has opened new avenues of trade, especially for landlocked states, such as Afghanistan and Central Asian states. This inclusive approach leads towards a prosperous economic region, highlighting the project’s potential as a regional game changer.
Besides, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor plays a remarkable role in safeguarding the region from Western influence and promoting peace, prosperity, and stability in the region. Undoubtedly, it has empowered the country, which is the rival of the world’s biggest economic power and an emerging power in Asia, to challenge its influence in its region by providing access to the Indian Ocean, making China strong enough to counter Western agendas in Asia. Additionally, it also has the potential to bring regional states to the common ground of economic cooperation, leading to peace, prosperity, and stability in the region. In short, for the region, CPEC is nothing short of a miracle. To sum up, CPEC is a flagship project of OBOR as it has great potential to fulfil the strategic, political, and economic goals of OBOR. The geostrategic location, being the base, enables China to reduce its reliance on traditional routes and strategically links the state to the Arabian Sea. Further, its infrastructure development underscores its role in the region, promoting peace, stability, and economic cooperation amongst regional states. In conclusion, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, being a flagship project of OBOR and a regional game changer, has the potential to reshape the economic landscape of China, Pakistan, and the region.
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