Time for a reality check

It is worth standing back from the fulsome political rhetoric that surrounds the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and consider what China is actually doing and what it wants — expects — from Pakistan. Firstly, it must be understood that CPEC is but a part of a much larger Chinese global project, One Belt One Road (OBOR) that stretches from central Africa through Pakistan and up into the Central Asian states. The OBOR project is not just about creating and sustaining a market for Chinese goods and services it is about creating a modern hegemony, a vast swathe of power and influence that stretches decades hence. As America retreats so China moves to filling in the blanks. Pakistan is a key part of that but pragmatic and ruthless as they are the Chinese will want Pakistan as a part of OBOR — but on their terms.

Thus it is no surprise to learn that the Chinese pushed hard at Pakistan to give more than it secured in return at the most recent high-level meeting between the two sides. It was the 7^th time the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) had met and the going got tough for Pakistan. The Chinese want a revision of deadlines in completion dates for energy projects, the Main-Line-1 railway project which is the lynchpin of CPEC linking Karachi to Peshawar, and the timely payment by Pakistan to Chinese sponsors.

In these areas alone cultures potentially clash. Pakistan has never in its existence been a timely payer for anything. The two countries and cultures are vastly different in their understanding and practice of work ethics, particularly relating to the timely completion of any project large or small, because the Pakistani minute as a unit of time is 30 seconds longer than the standard Chinese minute. CPEC is invariably spoken of as a game changer for Pakistan and we have no doubt about that — but only if it is completed and operated to Chinese timetables and standards, and if it is not then the Chinese are not above considering where else they are going to put their money, cutting their losses and walking away. Game over. Think carefully.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2017.

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