Islamabad: Pakistan media today hailed the launch of the ambitious USD 46-billion economic corridor with China as "game-changer", as they gave extensive coverage to Chinese President Xi Jinping's maiden visit to the country.
The 3,000-km corridor is an extensive project of investment which is bringing Chinese capital and expertise in key sector of energy generation and infrastructure.
The corridor linking China's far-western region to Pakistan's south-western Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is massive project of road, rail, energy schemes, pipelines and investment parks.
Dawn newspaper under the headline 'Economic corridor in focus as Pakistan, China sign 51 MoUs' reported that a historic ceremony was organised at the Prime Minister's Office, where Pakistan and China signed 51 MoUs relating to diverse aspects of bilateral relations.
It said that apart from economic cooperation, Pakistan and China have agreed to continue bilateral cooperation in civil nuclear energy under IAEA safeguards, in line with their respective bilateral and multilateral commitments.
The News International on its front page wrote that Pakistan and China agreed to raise their trade volume up to USD 20 billion and pledged to continue their cooperation in civil nuclear technology.
It said Sino-Pak friendly relations touched new heights as both the countries signed 51 agreements and MoUs for cooperation in different fields, rolling a USD 45 billion portfolio agreed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
They signed pacts worth USD 28 billion to immediately kick-start early harvest projects, while projects worth USD 17 billion, which are in the pipeline, will follow as soon as the required studies, processes and formalities are completed.
The Daily Times quoted President Mamnoon Hussain as saying that the economic corridor project would serve as a game-changer for the region and usher new era of prosperity.
The Express Tribune under the headline 'Pakistan-China ties hot new heights' said that the two sides have agreed on elevating their ties to "all-weather strategic cooperation partners".
The paper said the economic cooperation between the two sides will transform the entire region.
Urdu newspapers also gave front page coverage to the visit and reported that it was a watershed in the history of the two countries.
The electronic media gave round-the-clock coverage to the visit. All main events since the arrival of Xi to Pakistan were shown live. The visit dominated the evening talk shows.
Former ambassador to China Masood Khan told Geo TV that the agreements signed will change the future of Pakistan.
"Here is an opportunity to change the economic landscape of Pakistan and we should not let it go," he said, adding that the entire region can benefit from cooperation between the two countries.
