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A Chinese delegation today called on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and discussed investment opportunities in infrastructure and the ambitious Kashgar-Gwadar economic corridor that passes through PoK.
The Chinese delegation was led Vice Chairman of National Development and Reforms Commission Zhang Xiaoqing.
The meeting comes a day after the Joint Committee on the Pakistan-China economic corridor met here and discussed various aspects of the ambitious multi-billion-dollar project.
The proposed corridor will pass through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir which borders Xinjiang-Uygur autonomous region of China and provides the only feasible transport link between the two countries.
The meeting discussed details of the project including rail and road link from Kashgar in China to Pakistan's Gwadar port.
The project also includes construction of a 200-kilometre-long tunnel which will link both the countries and facilitate trade and commuters.
As per the plan, special economic zones would be established along the economic corridor, and Chinese companies have shown willingness to set up industries in the zones.
Sharif has said that Gwadar port has the potential to become a free port, adding that a special status like that of Hong Kong could be awarded to Gwadar.
The corridor was first announced during the June visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Pakistan and an agreement in this regard was signed during Sharif's recent visit to China.
China took control of the strategic Gwadar port this year, which gave it access to the Arabian Sea and Strait of Hormuz through which a third of the world's oil is transported.
According to experts, the corridor will speed up development in Xinjiang, which has seen frequent unrest, and also open up a new route for China's energy imports from West Asia.
Pakistan is keen to see Chinese investment in energy and infrastructure and is already working with Chinese companies to establish the Gadani coastal energy park and develop solar energy projects.
