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The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is considered a major and pilot project for the Belt and Road initiative. Geopolitically Pakistan will not only give China strategic access to the Indian Sea, Middle East and Africa, but also plays a vital role in connecting the Trans-Asia railway network that links Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia. China’s decision to invest $46 billion in Pakistan shows its strong determination to succeed.

As a flagship role model project under the Belt and Road initiative, CPEC is of great significance in that its implementation will have a direct bearing on the development of projects that are to follow. So the question arises as to what challenges and risks is China likely to face in the CPEC implementation process?

This book aims to apply a range of politico-economical perspectives to analyzing the tensions between the principles underlying Pakistan’s institutional operation and the building of CPEC. These perspectives include: internationalrelations, political institution, financialinstitution, NGOs, terrorism, economic geography, foreigninvestment, logistics, and mass media.

The major findings of this research show that, according to the principles underlying the operation of various institutions in Pakistan, CPEC should be built in eastern Pakistan where there has been a dense population with economic prosperity and comparatively better infrastructure. However, the biggest challenge and risk for the CPEC are terrorist activities driven by Islamic extremism and Balochistan’s separatism, the frequent targets of which are the developing regions including the west and southwest of Pakistan. It should also be noted that Pakistan will never overcome its poverty—the social seedbed for the terrorism in western and southwestern Pakistan—unless the developingregions can enjoy economic growth. And for China aiming to achieve strategic benefits, it is essential to build various channels useful to make investments in Pakistan, so as to exert positive influences on the negotiation of CPEC route planning and the projects pertaining to CPEC.