Pakistan’s political parties and the military in a meeting with a senior official of China’s ruling Communist Party on Friday expressed support for the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its implementation, amidst recurring terror attacks on Chinese personnel working on the infrastructure projects.
The cross-party meeting took place at the third meeting of the Pakistan-China Joint Consultative Mechanism (JCM) of Political Parties on the CPEC in Islamabad.
The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC) and member of the Communist Party Central Committee Liu Jianchao, who is in Pakistan on a three-day visit.
Apart from the ruling coalition, leaders from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl and other parties were in attendance. They expressed unwavering commitment to further strengthen the bilateral relationship between Pakistan and China by thwarting all nefarious designs.
The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan with China’s Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is seen as an attempt by China to further its influence abroad with infrastructure projects funded by Chinese investments across the world.
China has also invested billions in various power projects and road networks in Pakistan under the CPEC plan, but the implementation of various projects has slowed in recent months.
The recurring attacks on the Chinese personnel working on the CPEC projects by militant groups in Pakistan have become a major concern for China.
In March, five Chinese and one Pakistani nationals were killed in a terrorist attack on their vehicle of the Dasu Hydropower Project undertaken by a Chinese company in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Dar in his remarks said that the CPEC had played the role of a catalyst in Pakistan’s socio-economic development. “Not only has the CPEC helped alleviate chronic load-shedding issues, but development projects have also helped create mass employment opportunities in Pakistan,” he said.
The foreign minister said that the two countries agreed on executing the second phase of CPEC, in addition to signing the modalities for third-party participation in the project, which is a vital pillar of the Pak-China economic and strategic partnership.
Dar said that the two countries were prioritising the agriculture, information technology, industry and mining and mineral sectors during the second phase of CPEC.
Liu said the agreements signed during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit provided an opportunity for the two countries to upgrade their ties and both countries’ leaderships sent a “clear message to the world that the China-Pakistan friendship is unbreakable”.
He said party-to-party relations are an integral part of bilateral relations, adding that it was “high time” that Pakistan’s political parties contributed their wisdom to turn the blueprint into reality by understanding each other’s development philosophy.
He announced that the IDCPC would invite 300 Pakistani parliamentarians to China in three years besides providing scholarships and vocational training to Pakistani youth.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said new corridors had been included in CPEC which were aligned with the 5 ‘Es’ framework focusing on exports, equity, empowerment, environment and energy.
Established in 2019, the JCM of Political Parties on CPEC is a regular consultation mechanism between the Communist Party of China and the political parties of Pakistan. Previous meetings were held on March 19, 2019, in Beijing and on August 20, 2020, virtually.
Earlier, Liu in a meeting with Dar said China accorded a special place to Pakistan in its foreign policy and desired to strengthen their all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. He expressed satisfaction at CPEC’s steady pace. He reiterated China’s keen desire to further enhance linkages between the Communist Party of China and Pakistan’s political parties.
Dar underscored that as the flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the CPEC had led to a major transformation in energy security. The two sides agreed to maintain the momentum of high-level engagements and to further enhance communication on important regional and global issues.
Separately, Liu also met Army Chief General Asim Munir at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. According to the army, they discussed matters of mutual interest, including regional peace and stability, and reviewed progress on the CPEC.
General Munir reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to the strategic partnership with China and pledged full support for CPEC’s successful implementation. Liu highlighted that he was visiting Pakistan as a follow-up to the successful meetings between the leadership of the two countries in China earlier this month.
He emphasised the significance of the longstanding brotherly relations between the two nations and expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved on CPEC, reiterating China’s commitment to its timely completion.
Liu also commended Pakistan’s efforts in maintaining regional peace and stability, acknowledging the support of the Pakistan Army in providing security to Chinese nationals and projects in the country.
