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Critical Topics and Their Significance for the UPSC CSE Examination on May 23, 2025

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CHINA-PAKISTAN Economic Corridor (CPEC)

For Preliminary Examination:  Current events of national and international significance

For Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora

Context:

THE CHINA-PAKISTAN Economic Corridor (CPEC) is set to be expanded to Afghanistan with the foreign ministers of the three countries agreeing on it as part of broader efforts to boost “trilateral” cooperation.

Read about:

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

What is the Belt and Road Initiative?

Key takeaways:

— The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) forms a key component of China's broader Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
— In 2023, China commemorated the tenth anniversary of its extensive global infrastructure strategy, the Belt and Road Initiative, originally proposed by President Xi Jinping.
— The concept of the Silk Road Economic "Belt" was introduced by President Xi during his 2013 visit to Kazakhstan. The goal was to rejuvenate historic trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia and Europe, with a particular emphasis on routes passing through Central Asia.
— Later, Xi unveiled a complementary maritime initiative, termed the "Road," aimed at enhancing sea trade connectivity between China and regions such as Southeast Asia, Europe, and Africa. This segment has emphasized the construction of ports, bridges, industrial zones, and other infrastructure across Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.
— Initially known as the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, the project has been more commonly referred to as the BRI since 2015.
— Since its inception, India has consistently expressed concerns over the BRI, primarily due to sovereignty issues stemming from CPEC's route through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), as well as broader strategic concerns regarding China's activities in the Indian Ocean.
— A recent announcement on the expansion of CPEC followed a trilateral meeting in Beijing involving Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, as per a Pakistani official statement.
— India has strongly objected to the CPEC, given its passage through PoK, and has extended this criticism to the BRI as a whole due to its inclusion of the corridor.
— The trilateral talks took place at the conclusion of Dar’s three-day trip to Beijing, marking the first high-level engagement since India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 — a counter-terror strike in response to the deadly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives

Follow Up Question

1.Belt and Road Initiative’ is sometimes mentioned in the news in the context of the affairs of (UPSC CSE 2016)

(a) African Union