China and Pakistan would soon sign an agreement aimed at ensuring transparency in the implementation of energy and infrastructure projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is an important part of China’s One Belt One Road Initiative.
The most important projects to be completed under the CEPC initiative include Gwadar port, the second phase of the upgrading project of Karakoram Highway, motorway project between Karachi and Lahore, Thakot Havelian motorway, Gwadar Port Expressway, Gwadar International Airport and Karachi-Sukkur motorway.
China and Pakistan will work together to make the CPEC and other bilateral development projects transparent and free of any corruption, Chinese National Bureau of Corruption Prevention Assistant Minister Liu Jianchao said in a recent interaction with media personnel.
The Chinese minister who visited Pakistan to attend Ombudsman Conference said that he had held meetings with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman and other Pakistani officials and had shared China’s experience against corruption with them.
Terming the CPEC the most important project in Sino-Pak bilateral relations, he said that there was a need to make all possible efforts for its success.
Liu Jianchao, who had earlier served his country as assistant foreign minister and took the new assignment two months ago, gave details of the ongoing efforts for making the Chinese society free of corruption. For this, he gave credit to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, especially Chinese President Xi Jinping.
He said that the CPEC would be a symbol of good governance, as it would be clean and transparent and it would operate under the law, it was forbidden for any Chinese business company to get itself involved in corruption, while carrying out development projects.
However, both sides would work closely to prevent, detect and control corruption in all the projects, he added.
Jianchao said that the leadership of both China and Pakistan attached great importance to CPEC and wanted to make it successful at all costs.
“This project would contribute a lot to promote peace and development not only in the two countries, but also in the region,” Jianchao said.
Liu Jianchao termed corruption a great threat to security, peace and socio-economic development. His country, he said, had adopted a policy of zero tolerance against corruption. Thousands of Chinese people found committing corruption had been punished. There were over 150 top government officials who had faced serious punishment for corrupt practices, he said.
He said there were about 600 corrupt Chinese officials who had fled the country and the government had brought them back and punished them under the law.
The Chinese minister said that more than 230,000 corrupt people were investigated and out of them 90 per cent were punished during the last three years.
