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According to Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying, the corridor will "serve as
a driver for connectivity between South Asia and East Asia." Mushahid Hussain, chairman of the
Pakistan-China Institute, told China Daily that the economic corridor "will play a crucial role in
regional integration of the 'Greater South Asia', which includes China, Iran, Afghanistan, and
stretches all the way to Myanmar."[19]
China plans to build oil storage facilities and a refinery at Gwadar Port, with oil transported to its
Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region via road and pipeline. This will let it move energy and
goods to inland China without going through the Strait of Malacca, which could be blocked by
the U.S. or India should hostilities break out in the region. The project will also lead to
development in western China, where tensions are simmering from activities by radical
separatists.[31][32] Iran has also responded positively over the proposal to link the IranPakistan
gas pipeline with China, with the Iranian ambassador to China describing it as a "common
interest" between the three countries.[33]
CPEC is considered economically vital to Pakistan in helping it drive economic growth.[34]
Moody's Investors Service has described the project as a "credit positive" for Pakistan. In 2015,
the agency acknowledged that much of the project's key benefits would not materialise until
2017, but stated that it believes at least some of the benefits from the economic corridor would
likely begin accruing even before then.[35] A study by the Pew Research Center in 2014 found that
78% of Pakistanis have a positive view of China.[26][36]