PNN – Pakistan’s ambassador in Beijing, rejecting statements that Chinese investments in his country have stopped, emphasized that the process of economic cooperation between the two countries continues despite terrorist attacks on Chinese investors and security challenges.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, Khalil Hashemi, on the sidelines of the “One Belt One Road” meeting, in an interview with Sobh South China newspaper, pointed to greater cooperation between Islamabad and Beijing in the field of fighting terrorism to protect these investments and added: The friendship between Pakistan and China has passed many regional and international challenges and changes and is still strong.
According to this report, Pakistan is one of the most active actors in the “One Belt, One Road” strategic plan and has witnessed several billion dollar investments in infrastructure projects over the past decade.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one of the key programs of this plan, and China has allocated more than 65 billion dollars to advance important projects, including the Gwadar port to connect the Xinjiang region to the Makran Sea.
However, the security situation in Pakistani cities, including the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is inadequate. According to Beijing media reports, five Chinese engineers along with their Pakistani driver were killed in Pakistan last June. Also, a similar attack killed 13 people, including 9 Chinese citizens.
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73 people were killed in last month’s attack by separatists in Pakistan’s Balochistan. Although no Chinese citizens were targeted in these attacks, the region witnessed protests against Chinese investments.
Pakistan’s ambassador in Beijing rejected the claims that China has stopped investing in Pakistan due to security concerns and said: These claims are only opinions which will remain opinions until they are supported by facts.
Hashmi also emphasized that in addition to traditional “government-to-government” cooperation, Pakistan is looking for “government-to-business” cooperation models to attract innovative and advanced Chinese industries.
Referring to the young and educated population of Pakistan, he stated: 60% of our population is young and Pakistani boys and girls are fluent in English and have good technical skills.
Regarding the concern of Pakistan and China regarding Afghanistan, Hashemi said: the issues of this country require extensive diplomatic and political efforts, communication and continuous interaction.
He added: I believe that continuous interaction and dialogue is the key to solving these issues, and this requires capacity building and support for Afghanistan, both economically and security-wise.
Hashemi added: There is a very close alignment and agreement between China and Pakistan regarding the type of policy that should be adopted towards Afghanistan.