Preface
Pakistan is affectionately known as the "Pakistan Railway", and China and Pakistan have continued to cooperate as good brothers, and in 2015, Pakistan announced that it would lease the Gwadar port to China for use.
The mainland invested 337 small targets in the construction of the Gwadar port, which took 14 years to build and was leased for only 43 years.
No matter how you look at this deal, we are at a loss, so why should the mainland sign a contract?
Gwadar Port
The port of Gwadar is only 72 kilometers in a straight line from Iran and more than 400 kilometers from the military port of the Chinese Navy, located in the southwest of Pakistan, near the throat of the Persian Gulf.
It is the throat of several important maritime routes from Africa and Europe to East Asia and the Pacific through the Red Sea, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Persian Gulf.
The Strait of Hormuz, which is responsible for the world's oil supply, is also in the middle of it, and it is quite close, so if it is built, it will occupy a place in the global port rankings.
Through this port, goods can be sold to several countries, which can greatly boost the national economy of Pakistan.
However, after the outbreak of the Cold War, although the existence of Gwadar Port had a slight status in the two camps of the United States and the Soviet Union, in the eyes of the United States and the Soviet Union, India's attractiveness was much stronger, so it was not built with much attention.
It was not until the international situation gradually became more peaceful that the Gwadar port became the focus of attention of various countries, but Pakistan did not have the capacity to build this port itself, so it set its sights on some of the more powerful countries.
Seems to have been pitted?
In 2015, Pakistan officially leased its Gwadar port to China for a 43-year lease.
Other port leases are "semi-permanent" 99 years, but the lease of the Ba Tiejia family gave us 43 years, and we have to count 14 years of construction time.
Not really.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, China has been actively involved in Pakistan's infrastructure development and has gradually taken control of the Gwadar port.
The 2015 lend-lease agreement is just a continuation and formal confirmation of this process.
CNR: Pakistan leases land in Gwadar port to China for a period of 43 years
Why doesn't Pakistan fix it itself, but let someone else fix it?
In fact, Pakistan has not tried to build it little by little, but even if they have paid great attention to it and worked hard, it took 50 years to build it, and Pakistan, which recognizes the reality, can only turn to other countries to help.
However, at the beginning, Pakistan did not directly ask China to build it, and China's status in the international community at that time was not particularly strong, and they first thought of the United States.
At that time, after the 911 incident in the United States, Pakistan and the United States were on the same front and joined the international anti-terrorism alliance, and the United States began to assist Pakistan in building the Gwadar port in order to carry out anti-terrorist operations in East Asia.
Pakistan, which has no capital or technology, wants to build the Gwadar port on its own, which is simply as difficult as the sky, so there is really nothing wrong with establishing cooperation with the United States.
However, they did not expect that the United States would build it for the sake of construction, and also wanted to build a "country China" comparable to a military base, which would not only control the port area, but even extend to the surrounding land parts, and could also defend itself.
Can Pakistan agree, but in the end, it will not be resolved.
Then China was approached, hoping that the mainland would take over the construction of the open Gwadar port, which was divided into two phases, but after the completion of the first phase, Singapore got involved and obtained the operation and control of the port, with a lease term of 40 years.
However, Singapore also governs the Strait of Malacca, an important transportation hub between East Asia and the Middle East, and once the Gwadar port is completed, the maritime status of the Strait of Malacca will be threatened, so Singapore will not manage the Gwadar port well at all.
After Singapore took over, the construction of Gwadar Port not only came to a standstill for a time, but was also sabotaged by Singapore, and the original construction was demolished.
Eventually, Pakistan took back the right to operate and build the Gwadar port, handed it back over to China, signed a 43-year lease, and completed it in 2015.
So don't think that Pakistan gives a small number of years, for them, that's interesting enough.
After all, they would rather default than hand over the Gwadar port to China, although their own interests should take precedence, but Pakistan can be more biased towards China than other Western countries, and this relationship is not in vain.
And as for the lease term, it is understandable that Gwadar Port, as an important outlet to the sea in Pakistan, will not be subleased for a long time, after all, those countries around Pakistan are not at ease, and the relationship between the countries is very complicated.
Moreover, the cooperation between China and Pakistan is very extensive, and although the Gwadar port has not been operating for that long, it can also deepen the cooperation between China and Pakistan through other aspects.
Implications for China
It is true that the construction of the Gwadar port has taken some time, but this does not mean that China has suffered a big loss. In fact, the construction and development of the Gwadar port has brought many benefits to both China and Pakistan.
The CPEC starts in Kashgar and ends in the Gwadar port, which can help the mainland avoid the Strait of Malacca and provide a lot of guarantee for energy supply.
The Strait of Malacca is located between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, like a big hand choking the throat of the sea, and due to the military influence of the United States in the Pacific waters, it is easy to control the "Strait of Malacca".
At the same time, the United States is friendly with the Gulf oil countries and has stationed troops in the Persian Gulf for a long time, due to the growing tension between the United States and Iran, once the United States blockades the Persian Gulf one day, then the oil can only be stopped.
The Gwadar port is only about 400 kilometers away from the Strait of Hormuz, the main route for global oil supply, making it an important link between the Middle East oil producing regions and China.
As we all know, more than 70% of domestic oil is dependent on imports, and the completion and operation of Gwadar Port has provided a more convenient and safe channel for China's oil imports, effectively reducing the risk of energy transportation.
The geographical location of Gwadar Port also makes it an important bridge connecting South Asia, Central Asia and East Asia.
Through the Gwadar port, China can more easily trade with neighboring countries and promote the process of regional economic integration. It can even be used as an important fulcrum of China's Belt and Road Initiative, promoting connectivity and mutual benefit between China and countries along the route.
As the gateway to Xinjiang in China, Gwadar Port connects western China with ports on the Arabian Sea, providing an important access route for the development of western China.
Through the Gwadar port, Chinese goods can enter the international market more conveniently, and at the same time, it can also attract more international investment and technical cooperation, playing an important role as a bridge in China-Pakistan trade.
Through the construction of modern port facilities and transportation network, Gwadar Port will be able to carry a large number of cargo transshipment tasks, provide convenient and efficient logistics services for China's trade with Pakistan and neighboring countries, and become a proper logistics hub.
Its construction will also further promote the economic development of the surrounding area, creating more employment opportunities and income sources for the local people. This is a mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Pakistan.
Moreover, the unique geographical location of Gwadar Port also gives it the ability to monitor the movements of other countries' militaries in the Persian Gulf, India, and the Arabian Sea, which is a strategic value of great significance for maintaining regional peace and stability.
Therefore, the Gwadar port is not only a port that can make China a lot of profits, but also the "crown jewel" of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
It is also a symbol of "China-Pakistan friendship", and the contract may be renewed again in the future.
And a piece of trivia, in the commemorative stamps issued by China in 2021, you will find that there is "Gwadar Port", which is to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan.
epilogue
Although the construction period of Gwadar Port is long and the lease period is short, we are not at a loss. We should not limit ourselves to a short-term perspective, but should consider a combination of factors.
The significance of China-Pakistan cooperation is not only about economic interests, but also about strengthening friendly relations between the two countries and regional stability and development.
When evaluating the lease period and construction time of Gwadar Port, we should take an objective and comprehensive view, and at the same time, we should also recognize the broad prospects and potential of China-Pakistan cooperation.
Such cooperation will bring common benefits to the two countries and make a positive contribution to regional peace and prosperity.
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