Evolving China Pakistan Relations from CPEC to CPIC
Launch of the China Pakistan Information Corridor on October 27 is an attempt by China and Pakistan to build a commonality of narrative and create socio-cultural environment for Chinese endeavour of a community of shared future. Successful implementation will lead to Chinese control of not just Pakistan infrastructure and economic space but also information and culture.
A China-Pakistan Information Corridor (CPIC) was launched in Islamabad on October 27 to strengthen cooperation in media, fact-checking, business, research and cultural exchanges between the two countries as per the report in the Chinese State media agency Xinhua.
Pakistan's Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Director General of the Department of Press, Communication and Public Diplomacy of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and spokesperson of the ministry, Mao Ning, and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong attended the ceremony and delivered speeches.
Addressing the ceremony, Mr Tarar portrayed this an extension of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which connects economies of the two countries, the Information Corridor aims to build closer ties between their peoples through communication and shared understanding and has four focus areas.
First is the media cooperation and factchecking to counter misinformation. This will include news exchange working group of 18 Pakistani and Chinese media organisations.
Second is business cooperation to strengthen links between enterprises.
Third is think tanks and research to promote knowledge-sharing and intellectual exchanges and finally culture, tourism and youth engagement to expand people-to-people contacts. Xinjiang-Gilgit-Baltistan tourism corridor is seen as the first project in this pillar.
Spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ms Mao Ning noted that the corridor could play an important role in telling more and better stories of China-Pakistan cooperation. The initiative would build a bridge connecting the hearts of the two peoples and share inspiring stories of ordinary people working together, thereby strengthening public support for bilateral friendship, she added.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong expressed confidence that the corridor would help create a more favorable public opinion environment for advancing practical cooperation between the two countries, lay a stronger public foundation for building a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.
The Information and Cultural Trajectory
The CPIC is the informational and societal highway so to say to sustain long-term political and public support for the partnership in the masses particularly in Pakistan. CPIC complements the Digital Silk Road and helps create a favorable information environment for CPEC and broader strategic cooperation. The CPIC will increase Chinese information and cultural influence in Pakistan while allowing Islamabad tools to control the media and the think tanks to pander Chinese chronicles. This comes amidst Pakistan government’s plan to distribute 500,000 Chromebooks to students over two years to narrow Pakistan’s digital divide.
Thus, CPIC may help sustain political support for ongoing and future CPEC projects. The corridor reflects a growing emphasis on narrative-building and strategic communication, as highlighted by Chinese officials' focus on sharing positive stories of bilateral cooperation. The need for a public platform for integration is evident as the Xinhua news report of the event in Pakistan showing cultural activitiy [see picture above] lacks public audience and is mainly attended by government officials.
CPIC thus will extend Chinese influence into Pakistan's information space, restricting media independence, information sovereignty and narrative management.
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