THE CHINA PAKISTAN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR’S EXTENSION INTO CENTRAL ASIA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Abstract

There has been considerable scholarly and analytical debate on whether projects under Belt and Road can benefit states with a history of war and domestic upheaval. The same debate applies to regional connectivity projects such as the flagship China Pakistan Economic Corridor given its close geographical proximity to restive Afghanistan. This research article examines the potential of the $62 billion CPEC project extending into Central Asia and contributing to Afghanistan’s stability. Also analyzed are the challenges in 2022 such as a fragile security situation domestically after the US withdrawal in 2021, global economic deprivation due to the Russian war on Ukraine and several projects of the corridor still being a work in progress. The research design is a mixedmethod analytical approach.This article affirms that the aforementioned challenges must be overcome holistically, practically and through shrewd policy making before it can extend into the Central Asian states and Afghanistan.