1. Introduction
The local populace in Pakistan has different views about the projects launched through the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The local areas’ infrastructure exhibits a picture of the socio-economic fabric, and such facilities represent a sign of the country’s development. Besides other socio-economic benefits, the project mainly contributes to the promotion of education, health, and energy [
1]. CPEC is an offshoot of the Chinese President’s ambitious idea, known as the one belt one road (OBOR) initiatives, that include multiple sub-projects with neighboring countries [
2,
3]. The friendship between China and Pakistan is considered crucial for both countries, as both countries have mutual political and economic interests for the development of the region [
4,
5]. The China OBOR initiatives consist of several macro-projects that are spread over most of the Asian and African countries [
6]. CPEC was launched by the Chinese government for the socio-economic and infrastructural upgrade of Pakistan [
4]. The project is rightly called a game-changer in Pakistan’s history and is also crucial for the Chinese side to access a huge market through Pakistan’s Gwadar port [
7].
In more specific terms, the CPEC is a part of the Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) connecting from the Xinjiang province of China to Gwadar (Baluchistan province) Pakistan, with an approximate length of 3000 km. As a main pillar of BRI, the project has geostrategic, economic, and environmental implications for both countries. The project has many micro- and macro-level plans for railways, road and transport, fiber and optics, energy, and other pipelines, as well as various industrial parks and zones [
8]. The Chinese BRI is one of the most promising projects that is intended to transform all the connected countries along the proposed route to a new height of development [
9]. Several studies focused on the impact of the project on the development of the involved countries, but they ignored the local perceptions that can spur the success of the project. Some studies, like those of Callahan [
10], Clarke [
11] and Fanell [
12], looked at the strategic goals of the Chinese government in BRI and found that the project enhances the regional power and connectivity issues. Similarly, Zhang [
13] and Shariatinia and Azizi [
14] highlighted the cost and economic efficiencies of the BRI that stated that it could encourage trade and economic development in the region.
The positive perceptions of local residents do matter in the success of any project, and this study highlights such perceptions with a comprehensive model. The previous studies, focusing on the local residents’ perceptions, ignored the media propagation, which has a huge impact on the minds of the populace. The media presentation has a major role in shaping community perceptions towards the success and/or failure of international projects [
15], but there is no comprehensive study available in Pakistan highlighting the impact of media in supporting the CPEC. The national newspapers, magazines, and other print, as well as electronic media, make an especially huge contribution in favor of or against such mega-projects [
16], and it is imperative to understand the influence of media in order to deeply comprehend the success factors of CPEC. The CPEC is also heavily covered by international media highlighting its potential strengths and weaknesses [
17], but there is sparse literature investigating the local media effects on community perceptions and positive opinions.
The main purpose of this study is to inspect the local community perceptions of the CPEC project. Positive perceptions of the project may boost the effectiveness of the project. More precisely, this study has some novel contributions to make, probing the societal impacts of the local populace on the CPEC project. Similarly, this study evaluates the impact of CPEC on the culture of local residents. Past studies identified that cultural values have a key role in adopting or modifying users’ perceptions [
18]. The cultural orientations of the local community may be aligned with the development of the project, and therefore this needs to be examined. The environmental concerns of the local residents are also taken into consideration, and thus this contributes to environmental research in the context of international projects. The more focused-on area in the project is the economic well-being of the local community, and the study covers what the local populace thinks of such benefits in terms of their current and future betterment. The economic activities of the local populace revolve around the agriculture sector. Developing and reshaping agricultural production and distribution strategies under the CPEC will be of great value to the local communities in terms of benefits derived from the CPEC project. This study also assesses the moderation role of media influence. The media’s role is indispensable for the success of any international project [
15], hence, the study suggests that the media influence should be incorporated to sketch a thorough picture of the project’s future. This study investigates the media influence which it deems as responsible for shaping up public opinion about CPEC. The influence of media coverage has rarely been researched in the context of CPEC, and thus this study leads to filling the gap in research by evaluating the community perceptions founded by local media.
4. Results
Table 1 gives details about the respondents in terms of gender, age, education, and province (domicile), which indicate the participation of the respondents across all the four provinces located on the CPEC route.
Male respondents are greater in number than female respondents. In terms of age, the dominant age group reported during the surveys was 36–45 years. Similarly, the table reveals that majority of the sampled respondents (41.31 percent) were illiterate. Most of the sampled respondents that participated in the surveys (33.20 percent) were from the Punjab province.
Table 2 shows the reliability and validity statistics of the constructs. To determine the reliability of the instrument, its internal consistency was evaluated. Internal consistency, which indicates the degree to which all items in the instrument refer to the same construct, can be assessed by several coefficients, each with their own strengths and limitations [
58]. For this study, Cronbach’s alpha was calculated using the CFA results.
Table 2 explains that all the items of the constructs are in the permissible range, as per the instructions of [
28]. The cutoff value of the items should be greater than 0.50, hence our instruments depict that there is a sound validity of the variables and they are fit for analysis.
Table 3 represents the cross-loadings of the constructs. All the loadings in their corresponding column show that the loadings are well-placed in their respective columns. This indicates that internal consistency was at an acceptable level.
Table 4 expresses the relationships between the constructs through the correlation matrix. All the correlations of the constructs with other constructs are positive and show a significant relationship with one another.
Table 4 also disaffirms the chances of multicollinearity, as the independent variables are not very highly correlated to one another. The diagonal values in
Table 4 represent the convergent validity, which is within the acceptable range.
Finally, the environmental impact also has significant value concerning the local community’s support for the international project. Our hypotheses H1, H2, H3, H4 are hereby accepted, as their
p-values are lower than the threshold value.
Table 5 also depicts a model summary of the direct predictors and predicted variables. The overall summary shows the explanatory power of the independent variables, as well as the overall significance of the hypothesized model.
Table 5 provides the results of the tested hypotheses. The economic impact in terms of the development of the agriculture sector, thereby enhancing livelihoods and income-generating opportunities, has a significant influence on the total impact, which has further affected the local community’s support for CPEC. The social factors also have a significant impact on the local populace’s support for the CPEC project in Pakistan, approving H5 (see
Figure 3). The cultural factors do affect the community support for the CPEC project in the selected areas.
Table 6 represents the model summary with respect to the moderator, i.e., media impact. The moderator shows a 17% change in the relationship between the total impact and local community support for the international project (CPEC). The model gives a significant value, showing that the overall model is significant for the moderation analysis.
Table 6 also presents evidence that the moderator (perceived media) influences local community support through the total impact. The media;s influence has been recognized in previous studies to have an immense impact on people’s perceptions. This study also testifies that the media’s role cannot be overlooked. Our hypothesis 6 (H6) is, therefore, accepted as the coefficient of a moderator that is statistically significant at 5 percent probability level.
5. Discussion and Implications
The central aim of the study was to assess the perceptions of the local community in terms of the success and support of the CPEC project in rural areas of Pakistan. Moreover, the study aimed to understand the perceived media influence on the minds of the local community in order to advance the acceptance of CPEC projects. In this regard, the community’s perceptions in terms of social, economic, cultural, and environmental factors were considered and probed. Based on primary sources of data collection, the local populace reported perceptions that were personally administered. The study found that the opinions and thinking of the local populace are mainly accepting the project, especially in those rural areas where the CPEC routes are proposed to be constructed. These findings are consistent with past studies [
49,
58]. Besides this, the media role was investigated, which has not previously been examined in the context of CPEC’s support from local inhabitants.
The implications of the study contribute to the scant research work on the CPEC and the media’s role in the perception of the CPEC in rural areas. The social, cultural, economic and environmental impacts were used as predictors of support, and the media as a moderator for the developmental project, which has rarely been assessed before. The support of the local community is undoubtedly crucial for the success of the plans [
22]. The result of the current study suggested that, based on the collected data, CPEC will be very significant for the local residents of Pakistan, and will affect their lives socially, culturally, and economically.
Our results on the economic factors signify that the local community in Pakistan thinks that the CPEC will be a harbinger of economic uplift. Our results agree with the previous studies of [
15,
62], which suggest that the project will give rise to employment, businesses, trade, services, and other commercial activities that will benefit them economically. The societal effects are also positive, showing that the new changes introduced by the international project will be positive and the local people will adjust to the new changes. As was found by Kanwal [
22], the project can lead the rural areas of Pakistan to social integrations which will cure the social exclusion issues of Pakistan and China, which, having brotherly relations, will also share some mutually beneficial cultural capital. The cultural impact is also perceived positively by the local community. Moreover, the CPEC is thought to be an addition to the environmental upgrade of the local areas. The project will have a positive impact on the local areas’ cleanliness and the green initiatives of the country. Moreover, media influence, a moderator in the study, has a substantial effect on local community perceptions. In concordance with a recent study by Qianqian and Yijun [
15], we found that the local media has a massive role in shaping perceptions of the CPEC project in Pakistan. This conclusion is founded on the widespread proliferation of electronic and social media among the local populace. The media influence and tactful handling of its role in the success of the project lie on the shoulders of media regulators and rulers of both countries. Regulators and the government need to utilize the media channel in favor of the project by highlighting its developmental role. The media can also be used as a weapon against the project if not properly handled. All these factors give policy guidelines for the development of the project.
The CPEC is considered as the largest international project, and will make massive contributions not only to the economy of Pakistan, but also to the financial growth of neighboring countries. The project will provide aids and benefits to the local community [
1]. The study highlights that the CPEC will be the main source of cooperation among the regional nations, with a notion of shared prosperity and developments. Besides the job creation, economic gains, and business developments, the local people think that the project will help them strategically and politically. Security and insurgency issues, the social disharmony, and national economics vows can be settled by this mega-plan in the long run. As discovered by Kanwal [
22], all such benefits could lead the local residents to extend their support to the project for their personal and national interests.
This study has multiple implications. This study is theoretically important for users of social exchange theory in a new cultural context. The more beneficial aspects of the CPEC will keep them in touch with the project, hence the areas may create new developments. The students and teachers with an interest in critical evaluations of international projects may find new implications in the study. CPEC, a buzzword in international cooperation, is also a subject matter for academicians, media personnel, and other various quarters for discussions and analysis. This study may be theoretically helpful for all the concerned quarters. The study, too, has a practical implication on policy formulations and setting the future course of action. The government of Pakistan, the CPEC authority in Pakistan, the Chinese government, and all other relevant bodies may use the findings of this study to obtain further support and accomplish further developments in rural areas of Pakistan. The study is also helpful in furnishing social implications. Past studies also found such results [
63]. Social betterment, societal integration, and social interactions can be strengthened if the findings are considered for implementation. In this regard, social applications can also be of greater importance to make the public aware and gain their support for the mega project.
6. Conclusions
Aiming at finding the rural community’s support and development for the CPEC project in Pakistan, this study predicts the impact of economic, social, cultural, and environmental effects on community support for the project. The empirical data from 259 members from the local community residing at the routes of the CPEC were used for data analysis. The data were initially cleaned, goodness measures were checked, and then the hypotheses were tested using multiple regression with the latest version of SPSS. Based on the findings, this study concludes that the local community has many economic expectations that the CPEC that will provide better economic opportunities. There are also social imperatives of that the project will add to social development and integration. Culturally, the CPEC will give a positive boost to values, traditions, and other cultural capitals. The study also concludes that the country is in a serious position concerning energy, pollution, and other environmental issues, and that the CPEC will help to overcome these challenges. The media rhas been found to be a major enabler, creating a positive picture of the project, and it can be used to shape the good opinion of the public regarding the CPEC projects. The media impact is undoubtedly crucial for the support of the CPEC in terms changing the rural community’s perceptions. The whole study gives an impetus and provides valuable input to policymaking regarding the future success of the CPEC and exploiting its opportunity for Pakistan, and especially for the development of the local rural community of Pakistan.
7. Limitations, and Future Research Directions
The CPEC, being a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, is undoubtedly a critical and highly significant venture for both Pakistan and the Chinese government. This study sheds light on several seminal factors that can help to shape the conceptions of the local community to support the project, yet the authors acknowledge several limitations of the study, which could be used as an opportunity for future research studies. The study used convenience sampling; therefore, the findings cannot be used for overall generalization. The findings of the study should be cautiously used by policymakers, keeping in view the context and the usability of the study. Specifically, the data consist of the public opinions of the local community, where their own reporting has been relied upon. The findings related to media impact can be used to improve strategic communication regarding the CPEC and local communities, and to increase public confidence in the Belt and Road Initiative. The media’s influence can also be tested in future studies to check solely for the effects of social, print, and electronic media on the success of the CPEC project. This study analyzed the role of media in encouraging support of the CPEC, looking at the public’s rating and perceptions. As a next step, archival research and an events study approach to using social media can be applied to obtain more robust and in-depth analysis of the CPEC development. Future research can also use some new variables, like the religious, educational, and health impacts of the CPEC, and their concerns for the project.