Explainer | Why is Pakistan’s new PM Shehbaz Sharif so keen to accelerate the CPEC with Beijing?
Sharif played a key role in setting up some infrastructure projects in the CPEC’s initial stages, and resuming work on the scheme will be like a ‘homecoming’, an analyst says
But as Pakistan eyes expanding the pact to Afghanistan and Iran, there are concerns by the US and India that Beijing may use the CPEC to deepen its military ties with Islamabad, observers say
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Photo: EPA-EFE/HANDOUT
Within minutes of being declared Pakistan’s new prime minister on Monday, Shehbaz Sharif made clear his intention to breathe new life into the estimated US$60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
It was no coincidence that a Chinese embassy delegation was among the first callers on Sharif when he started work on Tuesday.