The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a $62 billion connectivity project envisioned to stretch from the western Chinese city of Kashgar to Pakistan’s Arabian Sea port of Gwadar, located near Iran and Persian Gulf shipping lanes. It is a major component of Beijing's broader Belt and Road Initiative.

What do Pakistan and China hope to achieve through CPEC? How are CPEC-related funds being spent? Can CPEC transform Pakistan’s economy? What economic, political, and social factors might inhibit CPEC’s progress? Can Pakistan overcome them, and if so how? How will CPEC impact the broader South Asia region?

This event will feature a multimedia presentation, based on in-depth and on-the-ground research, by South Asia analyst Arif Rafiq. He recently traveled across Pakistan--including to the key CPEC nodes of Gwadar and Gilgit-Baltistan--and interviewed a diverse array of stakeholders to learn more about the CPEC plan, to observe its initial progress, and to assess how Pakistan can best leverage the project to produce sustained, inclusive, and rapid economic growth.

Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0