While speaking during “Pak-China Relations: Pak-China Economic Corridors” event held at National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Yuan Jianmin, an influential personality of Xinjiang province of China, said that the establishment of Pak-China Economic Corridor would economically upgrade the bordering poor regions of both the countries by connecting Gwadar Port in southern Pakistan to China’s north-western region of Xinjiang via highways, railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas.
Addressing the deans, directors, heads, faculty and students of different departments, Jianmin said the establishment of Pak-China Economic Corridor isn’t aimed to undermine the interests of any country.
Jianmin, who is an honorary visiting Professor of NUML, holds portfolios of Deputy SecretaryGeneral, China Council for International Investment Promotion, Executive Director and MD Sinotrans and CSC Xinjinag Co Ltd., Standing Vice Chairman of Xinjiang Institute of Foreign Affairs and Vice Chairman of Xinjiang International Chamber of Commerce, China.
Jianmin said that the idea of connecting different countries of this region economically with one common route was quite old. Different programs had been appearing by different regional players at different times.
American Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton during her visit to India in 2011 floated the idea of an economic zone to connect the North with the South, President of Russia proposed the idea of Euro-Asia silk route, Japan extended the concept of Asian Silk route for the region and they all were meant to surround and contain China, he added.
He went on saying that finally Chinese President Xi Jinping presented One Belt, One Road initiative which was the establishment of New Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road to deepen global peace and development through establishment of intensive physical and other forms of connectivity as well as cooperative ties between China and the countries across Eurasia, Africa and beyond.
Pakistani and Chinese leadership had held number of meetings and reached an understanding for the investment of more than billions of dollars to facilitate road and railway links between China and Pakistan, energy and power provision, development of telecom, trade, live stock, coal and hydro power sectors, export of sea food to China and many other products between the two brotherly countries, he enumerated.