Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that the next phase of CPEC would include the country’s agriculture sector, and it would emphasize increasing agricultural products in the country. 

The flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the most ambitious multi-sector development project that China undertook in any foreign country so far. By 2020, the total estimated investment crossed $60 billion. 

Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad last week, Prime Minister Khan said the country is an agriculture-based country and the sector will be included in the next phase of CPEC. Chinese development is best suited for the needs of Pakistan, Khan added. 

“The speed with which China developed in the last 30 years is something we can learn from," the Pakistan premier said hailing the Chinese model of development. 

China is investing in many infrastructural projects railways, highways, power, fertilizer, ports to boost the country’s economy. 

The construction under the corridor started in 2013. At the time, leaders in Pakistan compared the ambitious CPEC equivalent to the Marshal plan of the United States that changed the destiny of war-ravaged Europe. Seven years on, with Pakistan’s economy still suffering, the CPEC just added more detractors in the country. 

Dept trap, slow implementation of projects, and poorly negotiated terms related to certain projects feature among the most common criticism of projects. Also, in 2020, the flagship project between the “two iron brothers” received mostly negative local and international media coverage.