Pakistan, China insist on continuing cooperation on CPEC

A day after India criticized the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China on Saturday committed to continue cooperation on the multi-billion dollar infrastructure project. This commitment was reiterated at the fourth edition of the Pakistan-China Strategic Dialogue held here, co-chaired by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. “Pakistan and China have reiterated their commitment to the high-quality development of the CPEC,” state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

Earlier, at a press conference after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting in Goa, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said, “On the so-called CPEC, I think it was clarified not once but twice in the SCO meeting. Was that connectivity is good for progress, but connectivity cannot violate sovereignty and territorial integrity. Later, at a joint press conference with Qin, Bilawal said that this year the CPEC is completing a decade, which has brought about socio-economic development, job creation and improved living standards of the people in Pakistan.

The CPEC, being built in collaboration with China, is a corridor being built at a cost of $60 billion, which is passing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). India is opposing it as it is passing through PoK and providing China access to the Arabian Sea from the Gwadar port in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. Bilawal said, “This corridor is a win-win economic initiative for all investors from all over the world.” He said that Pakistan reiterated its commitment to the high-quality development of CPEC. Bilawal said that “We appreciate China’s steadfast support on all our issues, including the principled position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

Disclaimer:IndiaTheNews has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.