The China-Pakistan Economic Coridor (CPEC) and Its Implications for Security Cooperation in the Region

Abstract

Both security and economic reasons make Pakistan a partner of outstanding importance for China in the BRI. Their partnership is based on a sense of reality and the absence of a strategic alternative for both of them. This holds in particular with respect to the unifying rivalry with India and the distance to the West. While economic relations between the two countries have already deepened in recent decades, bilateral cooperation is now also being strengthened in the military sphere. As the article shows, Pakistan is not only interested in China's economic capabilities in this regard, but also in digital modernization and cyber warfare.