| Summary/Abstract |
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is among the more advanced Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, with $18.9 billion in CPEC projects initiated or completed as of December 2018.1
1. ‘Latest Progress on the CPEC’. Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, December 29, 2018, https://pk.chineseembassy.org/eng/zbgx/t1626097.htm (accessed 30 December 2018).
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Given the close strategic ties between Beijing and Islamabad, and the popularity of China among Pakistanis, CPEC serves as a valuable BRI case study, providing insights into how the programme has operated in a country with limited initial political barriers to Chinese aid and investment. China and Pakistan have had robust diplomatic and defence relations since the late 1960s. Economic ties have, however, remained weak. CPEC marked the start of a venture into unchartered waters with respect to the bilateral relationship.
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