{"content":"🚂 China Exits from Pakistan’s $60B CPEC Rail Project 1️⃣ Train Tracks Left Empty China has stepped away from financing the ML-1 railway upgrade, the flagship of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) linking two major cities. Pakistan is now turning to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a $2 billion loan to start the Karachi-Rohri stretch. 2️⃣ Geopolitical Tightrope Pak is walking a fine line. Officials stress the ADB move is being done with Beijing’s consent to keep the “iron brother” bond intact. The aim is clear: secure funds from ADB without upsetting China. 3️⃣ Mines and Rails Connection The railway is vital for exporting copper from the giant Reko Diq mine, now under Barrick Mining. ADB has already backed the mine with $410 million and is expected to greenlight the rail loan soon. 4️⃣ New Promises, Old Gaps Pakistan signed $8.5 billion worth of MoUs with China in EVs, agriculture, health and renewables. But these are smaller projects, not the mega-scale infrastructure once promised. The missing jewel is still ML-1. 5️⃣ End of “All-Weather” Era? China’s exit shows caution. The Belt and Road romance is cooling, replaced by selective deals. ADB’s entry signals a shift from one giant lender to multilateral sources. 6️⃣ Trump’s Oil Pitch Adding to the drama, just weeks ago Trump floated the idea of taking Pakistan’s oil and reselling it to India. It underlines how outside powers treat the region more as a market to exploit than as a partner to build with. 🥊 Promises vs Reality CPEC was once hailed as a “game-changer,” just like Trump’s claims of delivering unstoppable booms. In reality, Pakistan’s flagship rail still waits for financing, China is pulling back, and new promises are dressed up in MoUs without heavy funding. Whether it is half-built tracks in Islamabad or loud oil pitches from Trump, the story remains the same: big dreams sound like moonshots but often end up as unfinished business.","images":["https://d2kdcqywr8ua22.cloudfront.net/uploadfile/article/blog/2025092025/09/07/502c174db0f44aa7bcb3ae7e738c1b67.png"],"tags":[],"tradingPairs":[],"quotearticleid":0}