Why Pakistan is so important to China? Why China needs Pakistan and Why CPEC is crucial for both nations?

 The CPEC is as important to China as it is to Pakistan and we will continue to work day and night to bring it to more fruition!

Peng Zhengwu, Acting Consul General Chinese

Why does China need Pakistan? Here are the 3 most important reasons why China needs Pakistan.

1. About 80% of oil trade in China takes place via the Malacca Strait. This trade route to China is about 10 thousand miles long. Whereas, if the same is done via Gawadar port in Pakistan, it's going to be between 2 thousand to 3.5 thousand miles. So, if China reroutes only half of its trade oil through Pakistan it will result in an annual profit of 2 billion dollars. But for a country like China, a profit of 2 billion dollars is not the only important thing.

2. The second reason is that this trade oil and overall Chinese trade through Malacca strait in general, are never threat free. China needs a continuous supply of large amounts of oil and gas. But, the Malacca strait is always under the threat of war. That's because the countries in the region, like Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam, have been a pain in the neck for China. And that's exactly what gives America an excuse to keep its largest warship in the region. The Philippines and Taiwan are the two strongholds of the American army. Hence, the region is constantly facing a threat of war. However, America, along with all these countries, can block the Chinese passage, if needed And China is not ready to face such a blockade. In comparison to this, the trade route through Pakistan is much shorter and safer.

3. The third reason is the western states of China. And this third reason is equally important. A mere glance can show you that Eastern China is much more developed with a network of roads. That is a reflection of how rapidly the industry is flourishing here. But, if we have a look at Western China - Poverty is rampant in this part of China. With this divide between its two halves, China can never become a global power. So, China has devised a program to uplift the western states.

 According to the program, China is a developing industry in this part, connected through a network of roads. But all of this is useless unless there is a system to export the products manufactured here. To facilitate this export, China is working on two routes.

• The first one is a Modern Silk Route, that will reach Europe via Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Turkey.
• The second one is CPEC through Pakistan. CPEC will enable China to trade with Arab and African countries through the Indian ocean. That's a safe and short route.

These are the 3 things for which China needs Pakistan, and that's the motive behind such massive capital investment.