By Deutsche Welle (Asia) | Created at 2025-01-12 08:11:51 | Updated at 2025-01-12 11:00:33
3 hours ago
China and Pakistan have reaffirmed their vow toward the development of the second phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the two nations said on Saturday.
The remarks came after Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong and Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch met in Beijing on Friday for the fourth cycle of diplomatic talks at the vice-foreign ministerial level.
"The two sides agreed that China and Pakistan are ironclad friends and all-weather strategic cooperative partners, and the time-tested friendship between the two countries has grown even stronger," China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday.
CPEC 2.0
Both foreign officials also co-chaired the fifth meeting of the CPEC Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination (JWG-ICC) on Friday.
Beijing said that the two countries agreed on the need to "upgrade" the CPEC.
The agreement — which was signed in 2015 — pledges billions of dollars of Chinese investment in Pakistan's infrastructure.
The project is part of China's mammoth Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which is aimed at developing trade routes to connect with the rest of the world.
Islamabad said on Friday that a "high quality development" of CPEC 2.0 would focus on industrialization, Special Economic Zones (SEZ's), clean energy, agriculture and livelihood projects.
A statement from the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on social media said "both sides reiterated firm resolve to elevate Pakistan-China ironclad ties to a new pedestal of cooperation and collaboration."
Pakistan's economic hurdles
Chinese investment in the region is facing the challenges posed by political instability, economic stagnation and energy supply issues.
Earlier this week, hundreds of Pakistani protesters blocked a section of a key highway that forms part of the CPEC in protest against power outages.
Locals in the snowy Gilgit-Baltistan region suffered blackouts of more than 20 hours amid temperatures of -15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit).
The demonstrations on the Karakoram Highway in Hunza Valley prevented dozens of freight trucks from crossing into China.
Pakistan is hoping the greater Chinese investment to help alleviate its economic woes.
With inputs from AFP and AP.
Edited by: Alex Berry
