Beijing’s soft touch
Apparently sensitive to criticism over CPEC, China is now highlighting its cooperation with Pakistan in the social sector. Last week saw the Chinese Ambassador launch a ‘China South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund’ for Pakistan, specifically for post-disaster recovery in Fata and Balochistan. The Chinese have earlier funded social projects here, but this marks the first time a special initiative is launched and with much fanfare.
The four-month, $4 million project – which looks more like a repackaging of a previous development commitment by the Chinese – is expected to provide reconstruction and household support to 8,100 families returning to their home in four Fata agencies after war, besides rehabilitating 375 schools in three floods-prone Balochistan districts. The project is funded entirely by the Chinese government (Ministry of Commerce) and implemented by UNDP Pakistan via government machinery in those remote areas.
As the US hints at scaling back its development footprint, China’s engagement with Pakistan could grow further. Given the scale of CPEC projects, $4 million is mere pocket change. This grant will get China some development visibility, so money well spent. But at this pace, China cannot rival what the likes of USaid and EU have been channeling into the local social sector.
Of course, it’s just a start. And it’s quite possible that more development assistance will follow. Chinese ambassador also hinted the same during the launch event in Islamabad last Friday.
But China looks smart with its spending. Its partnership with the UNDP Pakistan – which has a decades-long development experience on the ground – suggests that while China may not want to dictate development priorities and instead support government projects that address pressing humanitarian needs, it may still desire a big bang for its buck.
However, this development approach isn’t unique to Pakistan, as China has lately undertaken similar projects in Nepal and Bangladesh, with UNDP’s help. Since 2010, under the South-South Cooperation Initiative, the Chinese government has been cooperating with the UNDP to deepen its development footprint overseas. That partnership evolved in 2016 when the two sides began cooperating for implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in line with the UN’s sustainable development agenda.
In the end, China’s social sector support is welcome. Arguably, more good may result if CPEC projects – which have a huge involvement of Chinese SOEs and which look set to define Pakistan’s economic and social landscape in the coming decade – are designed and executed in such manner that they actually help Pakistan in critical areas like local human resource development, environment protection, export-oriented industrial base, and debt-repayment capacity.
