Poor Branding of China Pakistan Economic Corridor

Abstract

The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a flagship project that is the reflection of the friendship between Pakistan and China. This economic partnership is in line with the vision of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative. Unfortunately, due to the Chinese way of work ethics of keeping the details secret, CPEC has received negative feedback from almost all stakeholders. On top of it, the Chinese did not have a proper marketing strategy to brand CPEC. This weakness was heavily exploited by the critics. Even today the project is heavily criticized by a number of people. This project looks in detail on how the project was initially branded through conferences and media appearances of academics. Why this strategy was not in the favor as it lacked theoretical backing? What are the theoretical models that can be implemented in branding CPEC and what is the way forward for CPEC branding