In what can be described as quid pro quo of sorts, Xi delivered a blunt message to all weather ally Pakistan, whose PM was the first leader to visit Beijing after the party Congress.
CPEC, crown jewel of BRI and its key pillar Gwadar Port, are part of China’s strategy to expand Indian Ocean Region outreach in India’s backyard. Beijing has been peeved with Pakistan for delay in CPEC completion and safety of Chinese nationals in Gwadar. Progress on CPEC has been slow since the days of Nawaz Sharif.
Chinese plan is to connect resource rich African states and Gulf states to mainland China via CPEC and use Gwadar port as military base in future, alleged sources familiar with the Chinese strategy.
India on Thursday rejected statements on J & K & CPEC in China-Pak joint statement issued after Xi’s meeting with the Pakistan PM. “The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh are and always will be integral and inalienable parts of India. No other country has locus standi to comment on the same,” MEA spokesperson said.
“As regards the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, we have consistently conveyed our protest and our concerns to China and Pakistan. CPEC includes projects on the sovereign territory of India under forcible and illegal external occupation. We resolutely reject any attempts to utilize such projects to change the status quo in this area. Any attempts to involve third parties in such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable and will be treated as such by us,” the spokesperson added.
Ahead of the visit, Pakistani Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb had said the PM’s visit to China will be an “extremely important” one, adding “it will set a new milestone for the CPEC”.
In a video message, Aurangzeb had lamented that several CPEC projects were delayed during the previous government’s tenure, adding that they had now been revived by the incumbent prime minister.
She had underlined that all administrative and procedural obstacles had been removed from the projects, saying “the new CPEC era is about to begin”.
CPEC’s next phase would encompass key areas such as industry, energy, agriculture, ICT, rail and road network and developing Gwadar port as a hub of trade and transhipment, investment and regional connectivity, claimed Pakistani officials.
“Our overall aim is to harness the potential of CPEC for Pakistan’s inclusive and sustainable growth, socioeconomic development and for improving the livelihoods of our people,” the Pak PM had said before his departure.
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