China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that was once presented as an economy booster and geopolitical game-changer has appeared to have turned into a misfortune for both Pakistan and China. Now Islamabad is fed up with the implementation progress and increasing financial burden while Beijing is angry about security failures and the failing returns on the heavy investments. A decade later, the mega project is slowly turning into a giant white elephant, just in the same way its counterparts under the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) have.
Voices against China for the deteriorating financial situation are growing in Pakistan as the CPEC caused the setting up the most expensive projects that were actually not needed. Former chairman of Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Shabar Zaidi said “I was the first person in Pakistan to oppose CPEC. I said 25 years ago that it is a drama & nothing will come out of it. You fooled people. It led to disaster.” Many people have supported and echoed Zaidi’s views on social media platforms.
Nobody knows what is the present-day value of the original USD 46 billion CPEC plan after one decade. Thanks to the mysterious ways of Chinese dealings and the confidentiality clauses in agreements. While Pakistanis are frustrated by the poor performance and incapabilities of the CPEC projects to generate returns, the Chinese are worried about the repayment of huge CPEC loans amid the exacerbating financial condition of Pakistan. So, what once was portrayed as the herald of the modern infrastructure, the CPEC has itself become a source of economic difficulties.
Pakistani officials can be seen often pleading with the Chinese counterparts to renegotiate payment arrangements, as liabilities from just CPEC-led power projects exceeded PKR 543 billion in March 2026. Yet, the CPEC has failed to end Pakistan’s power crisis. Chinese China has shown little inclination to ease Pakistan’s financial burden. The frustration on the Pakistan side is quite evident, as power minister Sardar Awais Khan Leghari had to acknowledge that “A sufficient outcome has not come out yet.”
Gwadar Port, which was touted as a jewel of the CPEC plan, is in a doldrum as it lacks basic civic facilities. How could it create an economic ecosystem then? CPEC projects lacked competitive manufacturing, high-value exports, foreign-exchange earnings, and integration into global supply chains. Situation is more of less same for other important transportation projects, thanks to bureaucratic delays, provincial disagreements, policy paralysis, financial mismanagement, and public protests, among others.
It is natural to consider that the CPEC fiasco is only Pakistan’s headache. But it is not. It has affected China as well. Beijing is stressed over the unsatisfactory returns on the funds, technological resources, personnel and diplomatic capital it has put into Pakistan. Delays in construction and operations have translated into poor revenues, even as the Pakistan government struggles to repay the principal amount of its loans. But there was more to it. Strategic returns at stake. The CPEC would allow China crucial access to the Middle East and strengthen its presence along the western Indian Ocean.
The ultimate goal for China must be to get the Gwadar Port ready as soon as possible, as it has been trying to expand its economic and military footprints. But security risks from militants and delays in implementation of related transport infrastructure have undermined the core objectives of CPEC for China. Frankly speaking, the overall success of the CPEC depends on the success of the Gwadar Port project, and the very project is the most affected of all. Gwadar has become the symbol of CPEC’s implementation problem, and it is still far from the reality of being economically and strategically useful.
China may see the entire narrative built around the BRI come crashing down if CPEC fails, given that it is a flagship programme. A decade ago, the ordinary people of Pakistan had gone crazy after CPEC was announced, thinking their economic vulnerabilities would now be gone, and would be replaced by prosperity. But today, Pakistan continues to struggle with expensive electricity, weak exports, fiscal stress, insecurity and delayed projects, even as the debt has increased manifold. Now taking a holistic view, the CPEC appears to have become more about big announcements and ill-conceived investments.
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