Daily Times

BEIJING: Any plots to sow discord in China’s ties with Pakistan will not prevail, the Chinese government’s top diplomat has said, as Beijing fends off criticism of its economic projects in Pakistan and an alleged clampdown in the Xinjiang region.

China has pledged $57 billion to build power stations, major highways, new railways and high capacity ports along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a key part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative to further tie China to Eurasia.

China welcomes the good start made in its all-weather partnership with Pakistan following the election of the new government under Prime Minister Imran Khan, State Councillor Wang Yi told Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. “But any conspiracies attempting to incite disharmony or interfere in China-Pakistan relations will not prevail,” he said, according to a statement released by China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday. China and Pakistan should continue to make all-out efforts to promote the economic corridor, expand trade and reduce poverty to bring more benefits to the ordinary people of Pakistan, he added.

The relationship between China and Pakistan will not change, regardless of circumstantial changes, Qureshi told Wang, according to the statement. The corridor is extremely important to Pakistan and has brought deep impact for jobs, development and livelihood, he said, adding that Islamabad will take effective measures to ensure the security of the entire route.

Separately, at a regular news briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang said both India and Pakistan are important countries in South Asia and that both should settle their bilateral disputes through peaceful means. “Maintaining the steady development of India-Pakistan relations is of significance to the peace and development of the region and the world at large. We sincerely hope that the two countries can enhance communication and dialogue, properly handle differences, improve their relations and jointly uphold regional peace and stability,” the spokesperson said.

To a question about Sino-US trade war, the spokesperson said China’s position and attitude on the matter have been very clear. Regarding the latest statement from the US, the spokesperson said, “First the large trade deficit between the United States and other countries, and the loss of domestic manufacturing jobs, which is the result of insufficient savings in the United States, international division of labour and production of multinational companies. The result of the change in layout is the result of the US dollar as the main international currency, and an objective reflection of the complementary advantages of the United States and other countries. It is unreasonable to blame China for its trade deficit and job loss, or for China’s accession to the WTO.”

Published in Daily Times, September 27^th 2018.