Hunan Daily New Hunan client reporter Xu Yaping
Two thousand miles back like a dream, forty years of the past and present. From August 11 to 22, veterans of China's aid to Pakistan Li Zhong, Liu Jirong, Zhao Jun and others trekked through mountains and rivers to re-walk the Karakoram Highway, reliving the arduous experience of fighting the world and fighting the wind and snow in the year when the road was built, and also witnessed the fruits of the 10th anniversary of the launch of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Their faces were written with excitement and pride.
On the way back to China, Zeng Yuehui, a veteran of Changsha, said again and again, "It's worth it, it's worth it."
What's worth it? "It's worth participating in the construction of the Karakoram Highway!"
Yes, the Karakoram Highway is the heart-to-heart link of China-Pakistan friendship and a strong cornerstone of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. As an important pilot project for the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", the corridor construction has become a new benchmark for China-Pakistan friendship with its great achievements that can be felt and touched. The Pakistan Observer pointed out that the "Belt and Road" initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor provide important opportunities for South Asian countries to develop infrastructure, strengthen connectivity and promote economic growth.
In 2008, an article on the Pakistani Internet titled "Pakistan Faces More Crises: Electricity, Flour, Sugar, Water, Gas Crises – What's the Way Out?" The article sparked heated discussions. The article describes: "Over the past two weeks, in many parts of Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab, there has been a frequent absence of electricity, gas or water all day... In the vast rural areas, electricity is provided only for 2 to 4 hours a day. ”
Faced with coercion and pressure from some Western countries, Pakistan is facing difficulties in its development.
As we all know, China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and "hardcore" friends, and the friendship between the two countries has a long history and has been strong for a long time. In 2013, the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was launched. In 2015, the Chinese and Pakistani governments signed more than 50 cooperation agreements, defining the "1+4" cooperation layout with the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as the center and Gwadar Port, energy, infrastructure construction and industrial cooperation as the four priorities, aiming to achieve mutual benefit and mutual benefit between China and Pakistan through all-round pragmatic cooperation, and build a closer "community of common destiny" together.
As the saying goes, to get rich, build roads first. The second phase of the Karakoram Highway connects the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway, and freight buses can reach the Hongqirapu Pass in the north; The Sukur to Multan section of the Peshawar-Karachi Expressway further opens up the north-south traffic artery in Pakistan; The East Bay Expressway, which connects the Gwadar port area, was opened to traffic in June last year and goes directly to the hinterland of Pakistan via National Highway 10, speeding up the distribution of goods and import and export; The driving distance from Lahore to Karachi has been reduced from more than 20 hours to less than 12 hours... The construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor connectivity has stimulated the development potential of regions along the route and opened the door to prosperity for oneself and others.
Ma Jilong, the head of Pasu Village in the mountainous area of northern Babei, told this reporter that before the road was built, the villagers "nested" in the mountains and planted a little wheat and apricots on the barren land to survive; There is an urgent trip to Gilgit for horseback riding, which takes 20 days round trip. Now that the road is repaired, it only takes 2 hours to get to Gilgit. Most of the villagers went out to work, do business, and run transportation, and every family had enough food and clothing to build new houses. "My son is still married to a Chinese daughter-in-law! It's really a kiss and a kiss. The old man smiled.
For a long time, the shortage of energy supply has been hindering Pakistan's economic and social development. In just a few years, the Sahiwal, Qasim Port and Hubu coal-fired power stations were completed and put into commercial operation at the "speed of China"; The Kalot hydroelectric power station converts gurgling water into clean electricity; China's nuclear power unit "Hualong No. 1" operates smoothly at the Karachi nuclear power plant; In the vast Gobi "wind corridor" in the southern province of Sindh, Pakistan, a row of wind turbines of the Sachar wind power station stands neatly... One project after another within the framework of the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has been started, completed and put into operation, effectively solving the problem of power shortage in Pakistan.
At present, it is the peak period of extreme heat and the banks of the Gilam River, more than 50 kilometers from Islamabad, are unbearably hot, but the engineers of the Kalot hydropower station are still conducting routine inspections to ensure the efficient operation of the units. Built and operated by China Three Gorges Corporation, the hydropower station has generated a cumulative capacity of 3.64 billion kilowatt-hours in the past year, meeting the electricity needs of more than 5 million local people.
"Before, we only had access to electricity for a few hours a day, and the kids sometimes had to do their homework in the dark." Mohammed Mehlbán, who lives near the power station, said, "When the hydropower plant is built, we will no longer have to worry about the lack of electricity."
On August 23, the All Pakistan Association of Chinese Enterprises held the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Enterprise Salon (Energy Session) in Islamabad. Sun Youcheng, vice president of the association and president of the Islamabad branch of the Bank of China, briefed Pakistani energy professionals and media reporters on the progress of project construction in Pakistan, saying that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has brought clean and accessible electricity to Pakistan, greatly improving the stability of Pakistan's power grid; At the same time, the corridor energy project has trained a group of local talents who have mastered advanced technologies in the field of electricity for Pakistan.
Shakir Ramai, CEO of the Asian Ecological Civilization Research and Development Institute in Pakistan, pointed out that after 10 years of development, a number of energy projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor have entered the operation stage, bringing a lot of development opportunities and improvement to people's livelihood for Pakistan.
Security projects, which were popular in Chinese mainland, are now also blooming all over Pakistan. In 2008, Hikvision entered the Pakistani market and has always been committed to providing a safer social environment for Pakistan. With 15 years of deep cultivation in Pakistan, Hikvision has hired 50 local employees to form a systematic combat team from sales to technology to after-sales. A series of projects such as border security, safe city, smart housing, and energy industry have been implemented to escort all walks of life in Pakistan. Liu Jia, general manager of Hikvision's Pakistan office, said that its dealers have achieved 100% full coverage in Pakistan's first- and second-tier cities, and the overall coverage of third-, fourth- and fifth-tier cities has exceeded 80%.
When receiving veterans of China's aid to Pakistan for road construction, Liu Jia said: "As the only land passage connecting China and Pakistan, the Karakoram Highway is also an important part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. It bears witness to the friendship between China and Pakistan and embodies the blood and lives of Chinese and Pakistani road builders. The sacrifices made by Chinese road builders for the Karakoram Highway will not be forgotten by history, and the Chinese and Pakistani peoples will not forget! We will take root here, carry forward the revolutionary spirit and internationalist spirit of helping Pakistan build roads, and make greater contributions to promoting the cause of China-Pakistan friendship. ”
Looking back, the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has laid a good foundation for regional connectivity and integration, and is undoubtedly a vivid epitome of the "Belt and Road" construction effectively promoting the economic and social development of countries along the route. According to data provided by the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, by the end of 2022, CPEC had brought a total of US$25.4 billion in direct investment to Pakistan, created a total of 236,000 jobs, and helped Pakistan add 510 kilometers of expressways, 8,000 megawatts of electricity and 886 kilometers of the national core transmission grid.
Zemir Awan, founding chairman of the Global Silk Road Research Alliance, a Pakistani think tank, said that the corridor has brought high-quality development to Pakistan, promoted win-win economic cooperation between Pakistan and China, and demonstrated the vigorous vitality of jointly building the "Belt and Road".
Looking forward to the future, China is willing to work with Pakistan to adhere to the goals of high standards, sustainability and benefiting people's livelihood, continuously improve the layout, expand and deepen cooperation, and further build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor into a model project and flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The reporter believes that the friendship between Pakistan and China is indestructible, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will surely become wider and wider, and the flower of the "Belt and Road" will surely bloom more and more brightly!