By CGTN's Tian Wei and Ding Dai

As one of the pilot projects along the Belt and Road Initiative, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has helped in building bridges, railways and ports. China has become Pakistan's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade volume reaching 19 billion US dollars in 2016. 

The CPEC, proposed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in 2013, is a 3,000-km network of roads, railways and pipelines linking Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and southwest Pakistan's Gwadar Port.

The corridor is expected to attract Chinese investment of up to 55 billion US dollars, creating about 2.3 million jobs between 2015 to 2030.

CGTN Photo

CGTN’s Tian Wei sat down with Nadeem Naqvi, Managing Director of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, to discuss the contribution of Chinese investment to the development of Pakistan's economy and Pakistan's attitude to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

“When the Belt and Road Initiative started, I was very skeptical,” said Naqvi, adding that he has a completely different view at present. “Today I see actual construction going on, actual projects are being implemented and I see private sectors coming in.” 

CGTN Photo

Naqvi expressed belief that the private sector is going to be the driver of investment between the two countries.

“Of the 55 billion dollars for the Belt and Road Initiative, only eight billion dollars is government-to-government grants. The rest is all private-public partnerships”.

He gave an example of a private company that has benefited from the project. “A year ago, what used to be the annual revenue of a large private sector construction company in the north of Pakistan is now the monthly revenue. That is the impact that the Belt and Road Initiative is having. So I think it is a huge thing,” he said.

Naqvi noted that the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative will be seen within 24 months' time.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange, the only one in the country, was ranked the 5th best performing stock market in 2016 by Bloomberg. Adding to the existing Chinese investment, a consortium of Chinese companies bought a 40 percent stake in the Pakistan Stock Exchange last year.