China picks Pakistan dam as first stop on US$40b Silk Road investment plans
Pakistan is seen as the key to President Xi Jinping's efforts to access the Indian Ocean over land and boost trade with Europe, Africa and the Middle East
China has picked a dam project in northern Pakistan as the first investment project of its US$40 billion Silk Road infrastructure fund as President Xi Jinping looks to expand the country’s influence across three continents.
The fund will become a shareholder of China Three Gorges South Asia Investment which will construct the Karot dam on the Jhelum river, said a statement on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website on Tuesday.
Total investment in the project will be US$1.65 billion, said the People’s Bank of China.
See more: Infographic: China's plans to revive the old Silk Road
Xi’s visit to Pakistan this week was the first by a Chinese head of state in almost a decade.
Pakistan is seen as the key to his efforts to access the Indian Ocean over land and boost trade with Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
China is Pakistan’s top trading partner, and they have a mutual distrust of India.
The two nations, which have long had close security ties, are planning a total of US$45 billion in projects along a 3,000-km corridor stretching from Xinjiang, in western China, to Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.