BEIJING – China has responded over the changes and adjustment in the CPECprojects by the new PTI government.
Chinese officials said that bilateral cooperation to this effect willundoubtedly continue in the future, experts and officials said.
Pakistan has established a nine-member committee to review the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor, another major part of the B&R initiative,according to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday.
“It’s normal and understandable that development focus can change atdifferent stages in different countries, especially with changes ingovernment. So China can also make some strategic adjustments whencooperating with these countries, but it’s definitely not a reconsiderationof the CPEC or B&R initiative,” Wang Jun, an official of China Center forInternational Economic Exchanges said.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also stressed on various occasionsthat further cooperation plans under the B&R initiative will continue inthe future, and all the adjustments are based on friendly consultationbetween different sides.
The Wall Street Journal said that Pakistan wanted China to establish morefactories and poverty-alleviation initiatives instead of just biginfrastructure programs.
Wang noted that Pakistan’s demands are within the cooperation scope of theB&R initiative and China has experience in areas such as the manufacturingsector and the establishment of industrial parks.
However, Chen Fengying, a research fellow at the China Institutes ofContemporary International Relations in Beijing, told the Global Times thatdevelopment of the manufacturing sector cannot be achieved without a stronginfrastructure base, which China has been pushing in the past few years.
“The initiative has undoubtedly benefited countries, especially developingcountries, and has laid a solid infrastructure base for their futureeconomic development,” Chen said.
According to a report released on Tuesday by AidData, a US-based projectthat tracks development assistance, Chinese development projects ingeneral, including the B&R initiative, and Chinese transportation projectsin particular help to reduce economic inequality within and between regions.
Their research results also suggest that Chinese investments in “connectiveinfrastructure” produce positive economic spillovers.
Zhou Rong, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute forFinancial Studies at Renmin University of China, forecast that China mighthelp build more hospitals and schools in Pakistan to help the country’spoverty-reduction efforts.
“We could help Pakistan through building a complete industrial chain tomake it more competitive in the global production chain, instead of justinjecting capital into poor areas,” Zhou noted.