Fri 22 November 2019:
Dismissing Washington’s warning to Islamabad over Beijing’s giant infrastructure push, Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing has said that Pakistan-China relations were based on “win-win cooperation” and were mutually beneficial for both countries.
US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Alice Wells had warned Pakistan that it would face long-term economic damage with little return if China kept pursuing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor — heralded as a game-changer by both Asian countries.
The top US diplomat for South Asia said the CPEC would profit only Beijing, adding that the United States offered a better model. “It’s clear, or it needs to be clear, that CPEC is not about aid,” she said in a statement issued on Friday.
“Why the US suspended its aid promised for Pakistan only because of political priorities,” he questioned.
Expressing astonishment over the US diplomat’s statement of higher tariff in power plants, established under CPEC, the Chinese envoy said that he himself had earlier briefed Wells about the tariff structure of these power plants, which he added, was the lowest among all the countries benefiting from China’s electricity.
“In 2013, when Chinese companies were establishing power plants in Pakistan, where was the US? Why it did not invest in Pakistan’s power sector despite knowing that the country was in dire need of electricity.”
Commenting on US allegation of corruption in CPEC projects, Yao Jing said it was easy to allege without presenting evidence. He said he discussed the matter with a number of concerned stakeholders including the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), but did not find even a single evidence of corruption in any CPEC project.
“My dear American colleague, before alleging anyone, please ensure that you have enough evidence,” he added.
The Chinese envoy further clarified that the project cost of ML-1 railway line is around $9 billion, however it is only estimation and not the final cost. “The real cost of the project will be finalised in the second stage of determining financial package of the project,” he said.
The Chinese envoy also refuted the US claim over providing less employment opportunities to Pakistani workers in CPEC projects, saying over 75,000 Pakistani workers had been provided jobs in different projects thus far and that by 2030, around 2.3 million jobs were expected to be created in CPEC projects.
“I would be happier to see more investment coming from the United States in Pakistan,” he remarked.
Ambassador Jing siad China was determined to build capacities of Pakistani businessmen and industrialists to boost productivity in the country, which would ultimately help in increasing the exports of Pakistan.
Under CPEC, he said China would provide industrial cooperation to Pakistan and for this purpose over two dozen leading Chinese and Pakistani manufacturers and industrialists were engaged to boost production and exports of Pakistan.
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