Key takeaways from 7th JCC meeting

Mixed reports have emerged on the outcome of the 7th meeting of the JCC on CPEC

Mixed reports have emerged on the outcome of the 7^th meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). However be that as it may, it is important to objectively look at key takeaways as well as the good news coming out of the JCC, at least on three counts.

First and foremost, the two countries finally agreed on and signed the much-talked about Long Term Plan (LTP) 2014-2030. What is even more heartening is the promise made by Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal to make the LTP public, which hopefully would put many rumours to rest. The LTP lays out the cooperation framework on how both countries can benefit from CPEC, beyond the connectivity and energy projects. Such collaboration is likely to happen in areas of industrial cooperation, agriculture, tourism and financial cooperation. What’s needed from the government now is a mass-awareness campaign around LTP to create national trust around CPEC and ensure that businesses have updated, reliable information to plan their investments around it. This is critical for successful and inclusive integration of CPEC into the economy.

Secondly, as opposed to concerns earlier aired in the media that CPEC is unilaterally driven by the Chinese, one could see that the government is pushing for its own informed position on a number of issues. For instance, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has voiced its preference for Rashakai industrial estate over Hattar in unequivocal terms and the Chinese have agreed to the provincial right of site selection for industrial estates. Furthermore, Pakistan’s decision to take Bhasha Dam out of the CPEC framework due to proposed financial structure or rejection of the Chinese proposal of using yuan in the Gwadar Free Zone demonstrate balanced negotiations and the fact that Pakistan is not shying away from saying no to protect its interests. For an initiative of this scale, such disagreements cannot be termed setbacks and instead manifest that CPEC has now entered the nuts-and-bolts discussion phase after the initial rounds of broad agreement.

Thirdly, as opposed to the last JCC, there has been no significant increase in the CPEC portfolio, besides two small power projects in Gilgit-Baltistan. Much discussion happened around the two railway projects, Gwadar International Airport, energy projects and industrial estates, already included in CPEC. The focus is on the implementation of existing projects in the pipeline rather than expanding the wish list. We, however, need to get our act together, sort out the operational bottlenecks and finalise the feasibility studies of existing projects for swift progress. It is important for Pakistan to be well informed with data and evidence on the proposed projects, to ensure that our preparedness for negotiations matches that of the Chinese.

During the JCC, the two countries also agreed to form joint working groups on agriculture and information technology to kick-start collaboration in these sectors. The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, governing the Xinjiang region, has proven expertise in large-scale agricultural production, use of agri-technology and water conservancy techniques. We have much to learn from China in these areas. And we are not alone! China recently signed an MoU with the Food and Agriculture Organisation to facilitate Chinese assistance to other Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) countries. Moreover, China’s imports from BRI economies grew by more than 40% in the first quarter of 2017, as opposed to last year, while businessmen from these countries set up 781 new companies in China in the same period. I have repeatedly argued that the real returns on CPEC will not be accrued through building infrastructure but through improved connectivity to enhance trade and capitalising on China’s expertise through industrial cooperation and technology transfer. The 7^th JCC meeting and signing of LTP marks the start of this process. Now it’s a test of how well we can use this opportunity to drive our growth.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2017.

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