Health along the corridor: Medical Cooperation and public health development under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, 2016-2025

Abstract

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as a component of the Belt and Road Initiative, has progressively expanded its scope of cooperation from initial infrastructure and energy projects to encompass health and human development. This study examines the institutional evolution of bilateral health cooperation under the China-Pakistan Health Silk Road (HSR) framework from 2016 to 2025, analyzing the decade-long development of the HSR: deepening collaboration and global health governance, medical infrastructure, capacity building, and technology transfer, alongside socioeconomic and developmental implications. Findings reveal that health cooperation under CPEC pioneers a new paradigm in development diplomacy-interconnectivity extends beyond transport and trade to encompass human security and collective wellbeing. In summary, the future advancement of the ‘Health Corridor’ necessitates overcoming a series of challenges: addressing biosecurity concerns, bridging regional disparities in health standards, and tackling funding shortages and talent gaps in underdeveloped areas along the corridor.