CRI听力:Chinese President to Visit Pakistan, Indonesia

President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Pakistan on Monday and Tuesday at the invitation of Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The visit will be the President's first trip to the South Asian country since he took office in 2013.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to be discussed includes a network of roads, railways, and energy projects linking Pakistan's deep water Gwadar Port with China's Xinjiang region.

Gwadar port is outside the Strait of Hormuz, which is the gateway for about 20 percent of the world's oil.

Earlier, China won the right to operate the port on the Arabian Sea for 40 years.

Upon completion, the port will be the hub of the economic corridor that connects China and Central Asian nations.

Hu Shisheng is the director of the South Asia Studies Center with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

He says the project will boost the economic development of Pakistan.

"Pakistan will have a lot to gain from the project. The country's economy is now at a low point, with poor infrastructure, such as lack of power and road networks. Previously, the country relied heavily on exports of textile and cloth manufacturing. But now due safety concerns and a lack of energy supplies, other countries such as Bengal and Sri Lanka have overtaken Pakistan in exporting such products. So the construction of the corridor will help Pakistan to develop new industries. "

As part of the Gwadar project, an eastern expressway linking the harbor and coastline, an international airport, and nine other programs will be completed in three to five years.

First proposed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in 2013, the economic corridor is regarded as a flagship project of China's "Belt and Road" Initiatives.

The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which will run through Asia, Europe and Africa, aim to strengthen regional interconnectivity.

Hu Shisheng says Xi Jinping's visit will reaffirm the two countries' commitments to the project.

"The corridor construction is a long-term project that will stretch to 2030. So Xi Jinping's visit will highlight the political commitment of the two countries to construct the corridor. For China, it is a flagship project of the Belt and Road initiatives, and for Pakistan, it will boost its economic development. China and Pakistan have very strong ties on the political and defense fronts. But economic exchange has been a weak link. So the project will further boost bilateral ties as well as people-to-people exchanges between the two countries."

Leaders of the two countries are also expected to discuss the construction of a pipeline to transport natural gas from Iran to Pakistan in a bid to relieve Pakistan's energy shortage.

The two countries will also sign deals on infrastructure, education and culture.

Two-way trade topped 10 billion US dollars last year, up from 4 billion in 2007.

After Pakistan, President Xi Jinping will travel to Indonesia for the Asian-African Summit.

For CRI, I'm XYee.