The SCO Tianjin Summit 2025 was held from August 31 to September 1, 2025, in Tianjin, People’s Republic of China. SCO Summit 2025 is accelerating the bloc’s transition from dialogue to concrete action, specifically by establishing digital integration and technological collaboration as the central drivers of regional security and economic prosperity across Eurasia, with a key focus on initiatives like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is evolving into a Digital Silk Road to enhance connectivity, ensure data sovereignty, and foster inclusive growth in line with the SCO’s broader goals.
This vision is being materially advanced through the deepened strategic partnership between Pakistan and China. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), long synonymous with roads and ports, is now accelerating its transformation into a comprehensive “Digital Silk Road.” This next-phase evolution, directly supporting the SCO’s 2025 agenda on digital sovereignty and cross-border data flow, is deploying foundational technologies like AI-powered logistics hubs and integrated e-commerce platforms that are reshaping Pakistan’s economic potential. Importantly, this transformation is not only state-led but also reinforced by private-sector leading Information Services and Technology Innovation Company, Zong (China Mobile Pakistan), which has been at the forefront of enabling Pakistan’s digital inclusion.
CPEC is strategically advancing the SCO Summit 2025 agenda by acting as a tangible and operational blueprint for the bloc’s digital and connectivity objectives. Evolving from its origins in physical infrastructure into a comprehensive Digital Silk Road, CPEC is translating high-level dialogue into concrete action through foundational projects like the Pakistan–China Fiber Optic Project and Advanced Data Centers. These initiatives enable secure cross-border data flows, AI-driven logistics, and e-commerce platforms, directly supporting SCO priorities such as digital sovereignty, trade facilitation, and regional integration. By materializing the vision of a connected, technologically empowered Eurasia, CPEC strengthens economic collaboration, fosters innovation, and enhances people-to-people connectivity across the SCO region. Leveraging this backbone, Zong is extending advanced mobile broadband services to millions of Pakistanis, ensuring that the benefits of secure, high-speed connectivity reach both urban centers and remote regions.
This ambitious vision is already taking physical shape through pivotal infrastructure projects, most notably the flagship Pakistan–China Fiber Optic Project. This 820-kilometer, high-capacity cable running from the Khunjerab Pass to Rawalpindi does far more than link two allies, it strategically positions Pakistan as a digital hub integrated into broader networks reaching across Central Asia and Europe. Acting as a secure, high-speed backbone, the fiber-optic highway enables a new generation of digital services including real-time customs clearance, paperless trading, cloud computing, and telemedicine. By doing so, it directly supports the SCO’s 2025 objectives of strengthening trade facilitation and deepening people-to-people connections across the region.
The drive towards a digitized economy was further highlighted recently with high-level discussions focusing on 5G readiness and the essential cloud infrastructure required for national digitalization. The development of advanced, certified data centers in Islamabad has been noted as a key step in ensuring data sovereignty and security. Private-sector collaboration is already visible through Zong’s investment in next-generation data and cloud solutions, aligned with the government’s cloud preparedness agenda. These steps not only strengthen data sovereignty but also ensure that Pakistan is digitally ready to integrate with wider SCO networks.
Ultimately, the success of these initiatives is measured not in megabits, but in their human impact. These digital corridors are empowering a new generation of entrepreneurs to reach global markets, providing students from Gilgit to Gwadar with access to world-class educational tools, and enabling remote medical diagnostics that narrow the gap between urban and rural healthcare. This technological leap forward is becoming a tangible driver of inclusive growth and greater societal resilience, a direct reflection of the SCO’s broader vision for a connected and prosperous region.
The Pakistan-China digital partnership provides the SCO with a powerful blueprint for the future, proving that shared ambition, built on shared infrastructure, is the surest path to shared prosperity. As these projects weave nations into a cohesive digital network, they are fundamentally strengthening the entire SCO community and building a more resilient, interconnected, and intelligent region for the digital age. As a flagship overseas subsidiary of China Mobile, Zong embodies the spirit of Pak-China friendship in the digital era. Its role in powering connectivity, fostering innovation, and advancing CPEC’s Digital Silk Road demonstrates how enterprise-led initiatives are vital in translating bilateral goodwill into shared prosperity, fully aligned with the SCO’s 2025 agenda
