BEIJING: China on Tuesday denied media reports which blamed the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a major reason behind the debt burden on Pakistan.
A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, Lu Kang quoted the recent statement made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which clearly stated that Pakistan’s debt burden was not caused by cooperation projects related to CPEC.
Responding to CPEC related questions at the weekly news briefing, he said that recently, around the construction of the CPEC project, they have noticed that some elements in the media have various comments and quoted different news.
In fact, he said, “If you can fully understand the attitude of the new Pakistani government on the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, it should be noted that the Pakistani government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed his full support”.
It is believed that the construction of the corridor is in line with the long-term development of Pakistan.
The working group of the IMF to Pakistan also made it clear that Pakistan’s debt burden was not caused by cooperation projects related to the construction of CPEC. On the contrary, the IMF Working Group clearly pointed out that the construction of CPEC is in line with the long-term development of Pakistan.
Lu Kang further said, it is still necessary to see that the construction of CPEC is fundamentally conducive to regional connectivity and lasting prosperity.
This is of course in line with the national interests of the region including Pakistan, he added and hoped that people could see that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is an important project under Chinese premier Xi Jinping’s massive multi-billion dollar Belt and Road initiative (BRI).
From the very beginning, the Chinese and Pakistani governments have worked on the principle of sharing and building together.
All relevant issues, including project selection and financing arrangements are decided by the Chinese and Pakistani governments under equal consultation, he concluded.
