by Misbah Saba Malik
ISLAMABAD, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has eleveted Pakistan-China relations to a robust economic partnership, Pakistan's minister for planning, development, and special initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said on Friday.
When CPEC was launched in 2013, Pakistan was grappling with an unprecedented power shortage, experiencing up to 18 hours of load shedding and a deteriorating law-and-order situation. Despite these challenges, China made significant investments in Pakistan, signaling to the world its belief in the country's potential, Iqbal said while addressing a ceremony to honor the Outstanding Pakistani staff of CPEC at the Chinese embassy here.
"The people of Pakistan will never forget that trust and confidence that the leadership of China had on Pakistan during those testing times," he added. "The most important is the trust that China showed in Pakistan at a time when even the local investors were hesitant to invest."
Launched in 2013, CPEC, a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, is a corridor linking Gwadar Port in Pakistan with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport, and industrial cooperation in the first phase, while in the new phase it expands to fields of agriculture and livelihood, among others.
The minister said that the true impact of CPEC extends beyond the construction of roads and power plants, as it has provided Pakistani youth with invaluable opportunities to work alongside their Chinese counterparts.
"This collaboration has not only allowed us to learn from China's remarkable success, but has significantly enhanced our capacity to undertake and execute major projects within the country," he added.
Highlighting their crucial role in the success of CPEC, Iqbal praised the employees for their relentless efforts, acknowledged their contributions across key sectors, including infrastructure development, energy projects, logistics, and technology, which have collectively shaped Pakistan's progress and future.
Commending the hard work and dedication of Chinese employees, Iqbal emphasized that their contributions have significantly strengthened Pakistan's economy, generated employment opportunities, and enhanced the quality of life for millions.
On occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong and Deputy Director General of the Department of International Cooperation at China's National Development and Reform Commission Chen Shuai expressed their congratulations to the awarded staff respectively and paid high tribute to all the constructors of the two countries.
Highlighting the fruitful results of CPEC, the Chinese officials said that China would earnestly implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, build an upgraded version of CPEC, and create a new situation of pragmatic cooperation.
A total of 43 exceptional Pakistani staff members from various CPEC projects were honored for their outstanding contributions. They expressed heartfelt gratitude to the embassy for recognizing their efforts and pledged to continue working with even greater dedication to strengthening the friendship between China and Pakistan further.
Ali Umair began this journey as a trainee engineer at the Matiari-Lahore HVDC transmission project with no professional experience. However, over time, the 26-year-old had the opportunity to learn extensively about the field of high-voltage direct current (HVDC).
"One of the defining moments of my career was traveling to China last year, which proved to be an invaluable learning experience. This trip not only gave me the chance to witness China's remarkable advancements in energy and infrastructure, but also provided me with the opportunity to interact with some of the brightest minds in HVDC technology," Umair told Xinhua.■