Initiative gives boost to Pakistan economy

During his visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, a revival of the land and maritime routes of the ancient Silk Road. The focus of the initial phase of the initiative was infrastructure, transportation and energy.

The economies, including Pakistan, involved in the Belt and Road Initiative today account for more than one-third of the global GDP. And the initiative has not only improved transnational infrastructure and trade connectivity, but also prompted China to invest more than $50 billion in the economies involved in the initiative, which has facilitated the establishment of 56 economic cooperation zones in more than 20 countries and created over 180,000 jobs and generated more than $1.1 billion in tax revenues.