Connectivity is key to success

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has become a "flagship" of the China-led Belt and Road Initiative, according to Mushahid Hussain, a Pakistani senator and chairman of the parliamentary committee on the corridor.

He said the Belt and Road Initiative - an umbrella term for the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road - will result in land and sea routes that will connect countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

"In fact the corridor is not just about Pakistan and China, it is also about the region. It is about connectivity, it is about corridors, it is about cooperation," he said, refering to its influence beyond the South Asia region.