Belt and Road Initiative: India, Pakistan can help in boosting positive spillover effects of Chinese investments

By adopting a people centered approach towards the development of the regions that fall under Belt and Road Initiative, India and Pakistan can help in boosting the positive spill over effects of Chinese investments including in areas such as employment, vocational skills development, labour training and technology transfer all of which have proven to contribute towards long-term sustainable growth.

This was according to the paper "Changing Dynamics of China-India Relations: CPEC and Prospects for Pakistan" written by Professor and founding Director Center For Public Policy and Governance FC College University Dr Saeed Shafqat and Saba Shaid, Research Fellow.

The paper was discussed during a dialogue on CPEC's opportunities for Pakistan. The dialogue was attended by Deputy Consul General, Chinese Consulate in Lahore Peng ZhengWu and the academicians and students in large numbers.

According to the paper Belt and Road Initiative inclusive of CPEC has provided a novel opportunity for nations to rethink the global economic and strategic order - an innovative synergy of geo-economic factors superseding geo-political consideration is already panning out. CPEC remains and must be sustained as an economic opportunity and not a strategic or threat to any one included India.

It might help India to see the CPEC as a business model that is a political and regional, rather than a bilateral diplomatic initiative between China and Pakistan.

Dr Saeed Shafqat and Saba Shahid explore some of these questions and evaluate the role of India in determining how the Belt & Road initiative (BRI) will enfold in South Asia. As CPEC unfolds, China's biggest challenge in South Asia would be managing India-Pakistan relations, yet primary responsibility for this lies with the two nations themselves.