Despite political unrest in Pakistan, China has invested over 30 billion US dollars in infrastructure there. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is considered a “flagship” of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and is advertised as a “game changer” for Pakistan. In the upcoming volume “China, Pakistan and the Belt and Road Initiative: the Experience of an Early Adopter State”, edited by Pascal Abb, Filippo Boni (The Open University) and Hasan Karrar (Lahore University of Management Sciences), international experts offer a comprehensive analysis of the impact of CPEC on Pakistan's economy, politics and society.
Using new empirical data on the local impacts of CPEC, the interdisciplinary authors challenge prevailing narratives about the BRI as a strategic, China-driven tool to transform other countries along its lines. CPEC, they argue, can rather be understood as an interactive process between China and its international partners, producing interdependent relationships between them.
Together, the participants will present their contributions at a digital book launch on Thursday, June 27, 14:00 (CET).
Panellists:
- Dr Eram Ashraf (Independent Scholar)
- Dr Filippo Boni (The Open University)
- Dr Hasan Karrar (LUMS)
- Dr Tayyab Safdar (University of Virginia)
- Dr Zahid Shahab Ahmed (National Defense College, UAE)
- Dr Saba Shahid (Forman Christian College)
- Dr Gul-i-Hina van der Zwan (Leiden University)
Chair: Dr Pascal Abb (PRIF)
When: Thursday, June 27, 2024, 14:00–15:45 (CET)
Where: Online event via Zoom. Registration and further information can be found on the event page of the Political Studies Association.