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Over some of the world’s tallest peaks, across disputed terrain and through an insurgency that has killed more than 50,000 people lies what Pakistan hopes will be China’s newest route to Europe and beyond.

Pakistan and China will announce more than two dozen deals when President Xi Jinping visits this year, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said in an interview. The 3,000-kilometre economic corridor will start in China’s western region of Xinjiang and run to Gwadar, a Chinese-funded port on the Arabian Sea.

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“For the first time China is going to become a strategic economic partner of Pakistan,” Iqbal, who traveled to China last month, said on March 30 at his office in Islamabad. “Gwadar is the shortest link to Europe, Africa and Middle East,” he added, calling it “a very attractive proposition for China and for its competitiveness.”

The move represents a shift toward greater economic cooperation between Pakistan and China, which have long had close security ties amid common disputes with neighboring India. The corridor would give China access to the Indian Ocean and lead to investments that would help ease power shortages that are hindering economic growth in Pakistan.