China to start first shipments via Pakistan’s Gwadar port on Sunday

China is all set to open its link to the international trade port at Gwadar in western Pakistan on Sunday despite all objections from India and the people of Baluchistan, which is at the receiving end of environmental destruction by the Chinese constructing roads and bridges across the mountainous region.

The first Chinese trade convoy of 75 containers carrying export goods arrived at Gwadar Port on Friday through the western route of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is touted as a game-changer for the entire region.

Officials of the Frontier Works Organisation, a military engineering organisation, at Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, welcomed truck drivers of the first Chinese convoy moving from Kashgar  in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west,  to Gwadar, on the southwestern coast of Balochistan.

The first Chinese shipments of 44 containers to the Middle East and Africa is likely to be seen off by top Chinese and Pakistani officials.

China and Pakistan hope to turn Gwadar as the hub of regional trade and commerce, with the CPEC linking China to the new port by land route.

A pilot ship is already docked at Gwadar Port to carry Chinese and Pakistani goods to Africa and Middle East. Gwadar port officials said loading of 300 containers will be completed on Saturday and they will depart from the port the next day for destinations in the Middle East and Africa.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $46-billon project, was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping to enhance regional connectivity, communication and cooperation.

Experts believe commencement of trade at Gwadar port under CPEC will become a visible ''game changer'' for Pakistan and the entire region.

While India opposes the CPEC route through the disputed regions of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and there is widespread unrest in Gilgit-Baltistan and Baluchistan over the environmentally-destructive construction work associated with the CPEC, neither China nor Pakistan seems worried over any possible impact of these threats to the CPEC.

Recurring unrest in Balochistan has been a concern for Pakistan as the region is stated to become the lynchpin of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the Gwadar port. Since 27 March 1948, when the state of Kalat was coerced into acceding to Pakistan, Balochistan has faced five waves of insurgency, with a fifth wave ongoing.

China claims the $46 billion project will not only benefit China and Pakistan but will have positive impact on Iran, Afghanistan, India, Central Asian Republic, and the entire region.

About $4.5 billion of the planned investment in the corridor will go towards road infrastructure, with two-thirds of the total $46 billion invested in energy projects in Pakistan, which faces perennial energy shortage.