BEIJING – A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman on Tuesday rejected a mediareport regarding delay in the construction of China Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC), saying the Pakistani government had termed the project apriority for the country.
“We have noticed the relevant reports and also noted that the officialsinterviewed by the Financial Times have come forward to clarify it,” GengShuang said during his regular briefing.He said the Pakistani Ministry of Commerce issued a statement saying thatthe Pakistani officials quoted by the Financial Times were out of contextand distorted the original intention, and the Pakistani side refused toacknowledge the report.
The statement also pointed out that during the recent visit to Pakistan byChinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the Pakistani sideclearly stated that CPEC was a priority for the country, he added.
Geng Shuang said the Pakistan-China relationship was unbreakable, and thePakistani government’s commitment to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridorremained unwavering.“As far as I know, the Pakistani side has set up a nine-member committee toevaluate the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Project. The purpose is tostrengthen the docking with the Chinese side, speed up the construction ofthe corridor, and make the construction results better to the common peopleof Pakistan, rather than delaying the construction of the corridor,” headded.
He said as everyone knew the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a majoreconomic cooperation project carried out in response to the needs of thePakistani side.” The construction of the economic corridor has a good driving effect onthe economic and social development of Pakistan,” he added.
The spokesman said at present, there were 22 cooperative projects under theframework of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, nine of which had beencompleted and 13 were under construction, with a total investment of 19billion US dollars, driving the annual economic growth of Pakistan by 1 to2 percentage points, and creating 70,000 jobs for Pakistan.“These results are real and obvious to all,” he added.
He said during the visit of State Councilor Wang Yi to Pakistan, thePresident, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Pakistan’s newgovernment stated that the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor was a landmarkproject of economic cooperation between the two countries and wouldcontinue to bring tangible benefits to the Pakistani people.
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The new Pakistani government was committed to comprehensively deepening theconstruction of the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor and was willing tocooperate fully with China to build this project, he added.
He said during the visit of State Councilor Wang Yi, China and Pakistanreached a new important consensus on better promoting the construction ofthe corridor.
The two sides agreed to negotiate and determine the future development pathand cooperation direction of the corridor according to the next economicand social development priorities of the Pakistani side and the needs ofthe people.Focus on accelerating industrial cooperation and construction of people’slivelihood projects, and gradually extending to the Western region, so thatmore Pakistani people can benefit from the corridor. The two sides alsoagreed that corridor construction can absorb third-party participation andbenefit the entire region.
“Finally, I would like to stress once again that the ‘One Belt, One Road’initiative is open, inclusive, open and transparent, and pursues theprinciple of sharing, building and sharing. In the past five years, the‘Belt and Road Initiative’ has become an important internationalcooperation platform and an important international public product forpromoting multilateralism and economic globalization. At present, more than130 countries and international organizations have signed ‘One Belt and OneRoad’ cooperation documents with China. If the ‘Belt and Road’ is reallygeopolitically considered as some people have described, facing many riskchallenges and causing various crisis traps, then it will not be sopopular, it will not be so sought after, and progress will not be so.
Fast, the results will not be so much. All in all, we welcome alllike-minded countries to participate in the construction of the ‘Belt andRoad’ to jointly promote regional connectivity, development and prosperity,and better benefit the people of all countries,” he concluded. – APP
