The China-brokered changes in the Gulf have significantly increased the importance of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. Under CPEC, as proposed in 2013, China was to invest $46 billion in Pakistan to develop infrastructure and energy, with both sides pledging to elevate their ties to an “all-weather strategic partnership” during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan in April 2015. A year later, the project was already paying dividends when the first large shipment of Chinese goods passed through the Gwadar Port.
Seeing China’s growing regional dominance, the U.S. sought to challenge it by partnering with India, setting the stage for Beijing’s ramping up of ties with Gulf states—through CPEC. The project also facilitates China’s outreach to Central Asia, boosting its influence in the region. For Pakistan, CPEC was envisioned to boost infrastructure development, revenue generation, and technological advancement, leading to education reforms that improved the local community’s quality of life. According to a University of Qatar study of CPEC, the project “could transform Pakistan, but it also has clear implications for the Gulf States and, after the outbreak of the Qatar crisis in 2017, CPEC has become a beneficial challenge for the Gulf States.”
The study further noted that during Saudi Arabia’s severing of ties with Qatar in 2017, both Pakistan and China continued trading with it, helping it weather the blockade. That year, China’s trade with Qatar rose 36 percent, with Doha’s exports to Beijing spiking by 60 percent. China also replaced the U.S. as the major source of imports to Qatar at nearly 15 percent, as the blockade made it more expensive for Qatar to fly goods and people to the West. It is undeniable that as a “bridge,” Pakistan can greatly benefit from this increased trade—if it can resolve its internal disorder that threatens not only threatens its economy, but also its security.