28 the silk road economic belt Increasing energy efficiency and the promotion of renewables is of interest to Central Asian states, as they have commercial potential. 141 Closely related to development, the Belt could also serve as an umbrella for work on technical issues, agricultural productivity and food security, in the form of agricultural cooperation funds and demonstration centres. In fact, agriculture is a target sector of China’s Belt initiative and bilateral cooperation on green agricultural technology and eco-safety already occurs between China and Central Asian states. 142 Highlighting China’s interest, a SCO cooperation mechanism for food security has already been proposed by the Chinese leadership. 143 The Belt could, in theory, serve as an impetus to help soften some of the aforementioned issues. For example, Chinese investment and economic pressure could stimulate greater bilateral and even multilateral cooperation on a range of threats. At the intrastate level, the provision of public goods could also help to mitigate structural risks for political instability and violence as an extension of popular dissatisfaction with ruling regimes. However, negative ramifications and even exacerbation of elements of instability brought by large-scale, often politically non-neutral investments should not be ruled out. Investment alone will probably not be sufficient to bring about transformative development in Central Asian society. Inclusive and long-term sustainable growth will require institutional reform in a region marked so strongly by patrimonialism and state corruption. National developmental strategies that ensure that benefits are accrued locally and that capital is channelled towards productive rather than extractive industries will also be necessary. However, it remains to be seen the degree to which China and Central Asian governments will prioritize good governance and long­term growth in addition to short-term economic gains. Thus, many of the purported positive spillovers of the Belt will still depend on the quality of its implementation and the distribution of the spoils, as well as how human security and regime and state­centric security are emphasized and addressed. 2.2. Interaction with security dynamics in South Asia China considers CPEC to be a flagship project of the Belt. 144 It has the most concrete design at the project level of all of the Belt corridors to date. This is predominantly because there is a great deal of political trust between China and Pakistan, and CPEC construction is largely intrastate. CPEC intends to address Pakistan’s critical infrastructure deficit. The failure of successive Pakistan governments to tackle this deficit has hamstrung the country’s economy. Pakistan’s economy, and that of all of South Asia for that matter, holds much potential for growth and integration. From a sheer economic perspective, CPEC is a positive impetus. However, Pakistan’s political and economic governance is characterized by ineffective and, to some extent, competing institutions. In addition, ethnic rivalry over CPEC derivatives persists. The South Asian region as a whole, in turn, is beset with strategic distrust, zero-sum foreign policies and geopolitical agendas of regional and extra-regional actors. As China and India vie for influence in the region, South Asia will increasingly witness push-and-pull from these two actors. 141 Wang, H.,‘China, Central Asia further cooperation urged’, China Daily , 9 May 2012. 142 Chinese Ministry of Agriculture,‘7th China–Kazakhstan Joint Working Group Meeting on Locust Control Cooperation held in Xi’an’, 1 Dec. 2015. 143 Chinese Ministry of Agriculture,‘Across China: sore agricultural firms invest in central Asia’, 18 Dec. 2015; and Zhang, H.,‘China is marching west for food’, 12 Mar. 2014, Fair Observer,<http://www.fairobserver.com/region/ north_america/china-marching-west-for-food-72431/>. 144 As expressed by the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, Islamabad, Pakistan, 12 Feb. 2015,<http:// www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1238072.shtml>.