Abstract

According to the World Bank, International trade has the potential to increase individual income and lift people out of poverty. Development through aid creates a sense of dependency between the donor and the recipient countries. While the effectiveness of free trade across borders have been well-established by the economists, countries in the West are resistant to the idea due to protectionist domestic politics. China has disrupted this euro-centric model of development by investing in infrastructure abroad to improve connectivity and develop the countries in the global south through trade. China has developed its own parallel development institutions to lead South-South cooperation and emancipate people from poverty, hunger and disease. The paper critically analyzes the Chinese BRI project in general and CPEC in particular under the frameworks of economic aid, peace building and South-South cooperation. Development of parallel financial institutions and the rise of bilateral aid from china is discussed using the frameworks of neocolonialism and neoliberalism.