- Says China-Pakistan ties are rock-solid & unbreakable; U.S will have to shun the practice of blaming this relationship
- Rejects U.S diplomat Wells’ negative propaganda against CPEC
Riaz A Malik | Saleem Rais
ISLAMABAD, January 22: During her recent visit to Pakistan, Ms. Alice Wells, Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs of the U.S State Department, again made negative comments on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The comments hold nothing new, but the same cliché in her speech in November, 2019, which has been repeatedly rejected by China and Pakistan. However the U.S side still ignores the facts and is obsessed with the story it made for the CPEC, this has been stated by the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan in response to a question that ‘ on January 21st, during her visit to Pakistan, Ms. Alice Wells?Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs of the U.S State Department, again made negative remarks on CPEC. She alleged that there was no transparency in CPEC projects, claiming Pakistan’s debt burden was growing due to the Chinese financing. She also touched on the cost escalation in railways ML-1 upgrade project, and said the Chinese companies joining CPEC are in World Bank’s blacklist’.
The Spokesperson said that, we would be more than glad to see the U.S develop its relationship with Pakistan, but we strongly oppose the U.S interference in China-Pakistan relations and the CPEC. Although you can never wake up a person who is pretending to be asleep, we have to make our position clear and reject the negative propaganda by the U.S. We must not let the truth be distorted and the lies run wild.
The Spokesperson said that in CPEC projects, China and Pakistan have been firmly committed to the principles of mutual consultation and cooperation for shared benefits. We put Pakistani peoples’ interests first. Major progress has been achieved in the past 5 years, with 32 projects achieving early harvests. This has significantly improved local transportation infrastructure and power supply, created over 75,000 jobs directly and contributed one to two per cent of the GDP growth in Pakistan. It shows that the CPEC is playing an important role in boosting Pakistan’s socio-economic development and improving people’s livelihood. Whether the CPEC works, the answer should be given by the Pakistani people rather than the U.S, the spokesperson further said.
The Spokesperson added that under the CPEC, during its planning or implementation, every project is equally discussed, carefully studied and jointly implemented by both China and Pakistan. The Chinese government always requests the Chinese companies to operate according to local laws and regulations. All Chinese companies joining the CPEC enjoy international reputation. All projects strictly follow the market-oriented and internationally accepted business model, adopt state of art technology and strict environmental protection standards. The entire process is open and transparent and is in line with international norms. We keep in touch with the relative accountability agencies of Pakistan and it is agreed that the CPEC is clean. The U.S holds a stick of sanction all over the world blacklists this and that country, but it is not for global economy, just ways to serve its own political purposes.
Regarding the so-called debt issue, the Spokesperson said that according to statistics from the State Bank of Pakistan, the total foreign debt of Pakistan is 110 billion U.S dollars. In fact, international financial institutions including the Paris Club and IMF are the largest creditors of Pakistan. Loan for the CPEC is about 5.8 billion U.S dollars, accounting for 5.3% of Pakistan’s total foreign debt, with a repayment period of 20-25 years and an interest rate of approximately 2%. Its repayments will start in 2021, with annual repayments of about 300 million U.S dollars. It will never be a burden to Pakistan. Moreover, China has never forced other countries to pay debts, and will not make unreasonable demands on Pakistan. The U.S keeps fabricating the so-called debt story, their mathematics is bad, and their intention is worst.
As to the cost of the ML-1 project, the Spokesperson replied that, we have said many times, that the initial design of the project was jointly accomplished by the China Railway No 2 Bureau, National Engineering Services Pakistan Limited (NESPAK), and Pakistan Railway Advisory & Consultancy Services Ltd (PRACS). The project was launched in 2016, and the initial design was submitted in May 2017. In April, 2019, it has successfully passed the initial design review, organized by Pakistan Railways (PR), of the complex including Mott McDonald Pakistan (MMP), Canarail and the Crimson. As the project has not yet been approved, the amounts of the project will be adjusted according to the actual condition and the needs of Pakistan. After finalizing the design of the project, we would initiate a bidding in accordance with international practice. This is a completely normal business practice.
The Spokesperson went on to say that, we also want to advise the U.S that when you accuse China-Pakistan relations, you should first look back what have you done to Pakistan, and think about how much contribution have you made for Pakistan. Did Ms. Wells bring any aid, investment or trade for Pakistan during her visit? If the U.S truly cares about the development and prosperity of Pakistan and this region, it should bring cash and funds, promote win-win cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, fairness, and justice, rather than act as a world policeman, spreading rumours and provoking China-Pakistan relations. China-Pakistan ties are rock-solid and unbreakable. China will continue to work with the Pakistani government and people to steadily advance the BRI and CPEC to promote regional peace and development.
