China to work with Pakistan for steady progress in CPEC

BEIJING (Web Desk) – China will work with Pakistan for steady progress in the CPEC and in our all-weather strategic cooperative partnership to bring more benefits to the Pakistani people, to the region and beyond on Tuesday. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang, during a weekly press briefing in Beijing, strongly responded the statement of Alice Wells on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He termed that China puts Pakistani people’s interests first. “Perhaps you noted the response from the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan made at the earliest time possible. There were also immediate refutations from Pakistan, including the Foreign Minister, the Federal Minister for Planning and Development, the National Assembly speaker, and the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee chairman. “Wells' remarks are nothing new. They are a mere repetition of old slanders against China, the CPEC and the BRI like those chanted by some in the US,” he added. “US says or does to sabotage our cooperation, China will work with Pakistan for steady progress in the CPEC and in our all-weather strategic cooperative partnership to bring more benefits to the Pakistani people, to the region and beyond,” he said. Geng Shuang said major progress has been achieved on CPEC projects during the last five years with early harvests reaped in at least 22 projects. He also said CPEC projects have significantly improved local transportation infrastructure and power supply, created tens of thousands of jobs for Pakistanis and contributed one to two percent of economic growth in Pakistan. Earlier,FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that CPEC is a game changer for the region and there were no restriction for any country including US to invest in Economic Zones being established under it. Talking to the journalists, FM Qureshi said that the CPEC is inevitable for the development of country and it will be further expanded.