Dr Mirza Ikhtiyar Baig (Economist):

Present government in Pakistan is undoubtedly giving priority to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) particularly the special economic zones, where there is a provision for relocation of the industries from China to Pakistan due to higher wages in China. I think that will be the hallmark of the whole CPEC. The Special Economic Zone when complete will provide jobs and transfer of technology. They will use Chinese global network to export. It is a win-win situation as the labor in Pakistan is cheap and it is very much used to the Chinese technology, particularly in textile sector. Previous government was not giving priority to CPEC and due to that various projects were delayed. It is a game changer project and not only for the benefit of China and Pakistan but it is in the interest of the entire region. The CPEC project will reduce the distance for transportation of Chinese goods via Gwadar Port.  CPEC is a fusion which blends various cultures. When the commercial interests are combined the cultural interests are also combined but it will take some time as it will gradually develop

Dr. Zafar Malik (Senior Journalist):

China Pakistan Economic Corridor has not lost its pace since its inception and its development is increasing day by day. But unfortunately, it was affected during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the entire world was hit by it. Because, China has no compromise policy on Covid-19 and after that we are back on track and you will definitely observe its results in no time. On the other hand, China and Pakistan are planning to develop an IT corridor to enhance mutual cooperation. The top IT companies of China have their offices in Pakistan; many of the mobile companies are manufacturing and supplying their products here. Whereas, we are also in talks in with world's biggest online store (Alibaba) owner JackMa, as well as discussions over E-commerce businesses are underway. The Chinese telecom provider ZONG is providing its services nationwide and they have around eight hundred million customers in the country. Pakistan is the fast emerging country in the IT sector, as we are providing such services worldwide. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's visit to China was very successful as he held many meetings with various businessmen in multiple sectors. But the Covid-19 restriction has not been halted in China and lockdown has been imposed in various areas. PM Shehbaz was the first leader to meet the new government of China. He had meetings with the President Xi Jinping as well as Prime Minister and many of the high officials in China, where he invited various enterprises to invest in Pakistan and special incentives where presented to attract as much investment as they could. Billions of dollars' investment will be made in the coming future.