China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: News Discourse Analysis of Indian Print Media

IntroductionChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a mega development project signed between China and Pakistan is considered to be a "game changer" on economic and geo-strategic grounds. On one side, the project would help China in achieving its foreign policy goals to expand from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea, it would ensure economic growth in Pakistan and subcontinent as a whole. While China is pursuing multilateral partnerships with other South Asian states, Pakistan is central to China in many respects to achieve its geo-strategic goals in the region. CPEC is one such flagship project which both countries are determined to implement and see the envisioned benefits. This fact has been rarely acknowledged in academic circles that Sino-Pak relationship as a legacy of relationship based on mutual trust and credibility, began with recognition of China by Pakistan and instrumental role in secret diplomacy by Pakistan that helped in bridging gap between the U.S. and China. Khan (2014) said, his development paved the way for China's position in world politics thus, led to United Nations Security Council's permanent membership (Pakistan Observer, p. A.18).Pakistan-China relations further strengthened with the Karakorum Highway (KKH) in 1970'swhich established a unique trade route decades ago between the both countries. Its significance has been further realized in the wake of CPEC to utilize this resource in strategic terms. The Nation reported, Chinese Prime Minister Mr. Li Kegiang made a very significant public statement on his earlier visit to Pakistan on May 13, 2013 saying, "China will give you (Pakistan) every support and assistance and by helping you, we have to help ourselves." The recent agreement in form of CPEC is a manifestation of this commitment. It includes investments uptoUS$46 billion. It is a flagship project of China's "Belt and Road" development framework (p.A4).CPEC, a huge set up of roads, railways and pipelines is spread over 3000 km. It is to connect not only Chinese-operated Pakistan's Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea with Western China through Xinjiang province will stimulate economic activity in the region through opening markets within China linking its hi-tech developed cities with under developed provinces including Xianjiang. This will be reduce income gap by linking developed coastal cities and provinces in China. CPEC is also valuable for China's global aim to open its markets and industry for global trade and competition. For instance, China will be able to import oil from Africa and Middle East more cheaply which will multiply its industrial output through CPEC as from Gwadar to Xinjiang. The Silk Road project by China under which CPEC is a major part willalso firm up its connectivity through network of roads and ports to Europe, Asia and Africa (The Hindu, April 21, 2015).On the other hand, Pakistan's current energy challenges compel for it meaningful measures which could get the country from foreign assistance while increase its indigenous energy-generation capacity. CPEC is one of those projects which not only include investments in projects including the construction of coal-based plants for generating power but also clean energy infrastructure. These projects also include plants in hydropower, solar and wind power. This strategy will not only enable Pakistan to boost its generation capacity in terms of power and electricity, making it self-reliant to overcome the current energy deficit catastrophe. It is aimed to bring a promising future for development and sustainability in Pakistan. So for both China and Pakistan, CPEC is a win-win situation for many reasons.Yousaf (2012) said, Gwadar, geographically is located at the south-west of Balochistan province sharing border with Afghanistan and from Western border with Iran which is almost 100 kilometers away. It uniqueness is shown when Gwadar is just 400 Km away from Strait of Hormuz which is enriched with oil that accounts for 20% of world's proportion(p. …