Beijing, Dec 29: China termed the reports as baseless that it is backing away from its initial financial promises made to Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) given the financial crisis of Pakistan and rising corruption & militants' attacks. It also denied that it has sought additional guarantees from Pakistan for sanctioning a whopping $6-billion loan for a railway line project.

 

 

Speaking on the matter, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, "Such reports are groundless. As an important pilot project of the BRI, CPEC has maintained a positive momentum of development since its inception in 2013."

 

He further, said, "I want to stress that China's input in the BRI, including CPEC, has increased despite the global economic recession. In the first three quarters this year, China's direct investment in non-financial sectors in BRI partner countries grew by around 30% year on year. China has provided as much support and assistance as possible to help many BRI partners combat COVID-19 and recover the economy."

 

The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project under President Xi Jinping’s ambitious multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

 

This comes after Pakistan's media recently reported that China has sought additional guarantees before sanctioning a USD 6-billion loan for the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway line project due to Islamabad's weakening financial position. The ML-1 project which is considered to be a major milestone for the second phase of the CPEC includes dualization and upgradation of the 1,872-km railway track from Peshawar to Karachi.

 

A senior Pakistani official who was involved in the negotiations said that China raised the additional guarantee issue during the third joint ML-1 Financing Committee Meeting on December 13 but did not make it a part of the draft of minutes shared with Pakistan. The official said that China raised the additional guarantee issue to get clarity over Pakistan's financial condition after it applied for debt relief from the G-20 countries, which is only meant for the world's poorest nations.

 

On the other hand, Pakistan has been fencing off Gwadar port to protect Chinese firms. The officials of Balochistan are planning to fence off the entire 24-square-kilometer area surrounding the Gwadar seaport to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project from the rising number of attacks on Chinese installations by the people of Balochistan as a sign of protest.

 

Besides, India has consistently protested against the project saying it passes through the "territory of India that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan". India has frequently slammed China, saying it "expects those other countries will respect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and desist from efforts to change the status quo through the illegal so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir."