Editor's note: Hannan Hussain is a foreign affairs commentator and author. He is a Fulbright recipient at the University of Maryland, the U.S., and a former assistant researcher at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

In the latest boost to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Pakistan's Board of Investment and China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) signed the much needed Framework Agreement on Industrial Cooperation. The agreement, inked during Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's four-day visit to China, provides an important lever for both sides to undergird international investment for the corridor, and collectively bolster development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), a key focus of the mega project's next phase.

First, stronger industrial coordination on developing SEZs carries the long-term promise of advancing Pakistan's labor productivity. To the credit of both leaderships, increased labor productivity is already a recognized priority on both sides, and its advancement through a Joint Working Group (JWG) format gives stakeholders greater bandwidth to coordinate socio-economic development objectives as well as institutional support. All to further ramp up the corridor's progression both domestically and along regional lines with connectivity at its core.

To this end, labor integration stands to gain as Beijing and Islamabad prioritize development of all nine Special Economic Zones under CPEC. Moreover, the decision to establish new green, digital, health, trade and industry corridors makes focus on innovation-oriented industries in Pakistan a key factor going forward. Thus, the resulting balance between SEZs and industry is important as it opens up new avenues for CPEC's healthy expansion and identifies closely with some elements of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) recommendations for success. "SEZs should be developed based on global best practices and local knowledge," recommends the report published in February, adding that "the recent consultation between Pakistan and the PRC on the framework agreement for industrial cooperation through business joint ventures and SEZs development is welcome and could promote Pakistan's industrial activities."

It is worth noting that CPEC's consistent progress and its promise as a regional connectivity hub are both emblematic of the all-weather friendship between China and Pakistan. Consider the fact that for the better part of a decade, Beijing has become Islamabad's largest trade and investment partner. On Pakistan's part, CPEC's recognition as a project of "national importance" in the country's first-ever National Security Policy, alone sends a powerful message on the confidence and value the country's associates with the flagship project, and its "iron-brother."

The West's baseless debt-trap propaganda, aimed at discrediting CPEC, has also been met with firm rejection in Pakistan. Engagement with China to diversify and advance Pakistan's export-oriented growth focus is also indicative of a spirit of positivity held true on both sides.

One must expect this sense of cohesion to gain plenty, especially when considering the second advantage of the newly inked CPEC industrial cooperation agreement: a more stable and predictable investment environment for Chinese enterprises. After all, the agreement prepares the ground for formally attracting more investment from China and elsewhere and enables focus on the relocation of Chinese industries to advance that objective. Early optimism shows in the desire of Chinese companies to establish a multi-billion dollar reprocessing park in Gwadar city, and their demonstrated interest in expanding project investments across multiple sectors in Pakistan. Islamabad's tangible measures to shield Chinese investors from circular debt also reinforce that optimism, and underline the corridor's role in furthering bilateral business convergence for win-win outcomes.

Taken together, Beijing and Islamabad's joint embrace of CPEC's industrial cooperation working group is a vital step towards cultivating more long-term investment opportunities well beyond 2030. They help scale up the corridor's impact to multiple sectors of importance, while ensuring that the future benefits of these development pursuits are felt by the locals. Pakistani PM Imran Khan's words on the corridor's current phase offer a glimpse of CPEC's broad-based strengths: that it has been "designed for job creation, industrial modernization, livelihood improvement, rural revitalization, socio-economic development and poverty alleviation."

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)