Pakistan’s Gwadar Port opened to world earlier this month with the first large shipment of Chinese goods arriving, and welcomed by the Pakistani Prime Minister.

The new deepwater port is part of a larger Gwadar development zone currently under construction and a segment of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $46 billion trade route, designed to allow easier access between Western China and the Arabian Sea.

CPEC is designed to integrate South Asia, China, and Central Asia. “CPEC will help in integrating these regions into an economic zone offering great opportunities for people of the region as well as investors from all over the world,” said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan.

CPEC has proven successful for China’s trade expansion, cutting the route for Chinese goods from 7,500 miles to less than 2,000 miles.

For Pakistan, CPEC is part of a wider strategy to compete with India on vital trade routes.

The trade convoy departed from Kashgar, China, on Octover 29, entered Pakistan on October 30, and reached Gwadar on November 12.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister of the Pakistani state of Balochistan Sanaullah Zehri welcomed the Chinese trade convoy and said Gwadar Port is the base of CPEC, which will bring prosperity to the country, particularly Balochistan. Later, the prime minister formally saw off the first mega trade cargo ship from the Gawadar seaport.