The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as the flagship project of the “Belt and Road” initiative launched by China, has made good progress in several areas including energy and infrastructure, Pakistani Ambassador to China Masood Khalid told the People’s Daily recently, hoping that the corridor could serve as a model for others to follow in the future.
His remarks came as China is now hosting its two sessions of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
“The whole world has been watching the two sessions of NPC and CPPCC with a lot of interest,” the ambassador said.
Khalid, who also attended the opening session of NPC during which Chinese Premier Li Keqiang presented the 2017 government work report, said that the areas he is most interested in included China’s continued opening up and reform process, innovation, efforts to reduce the impact of climate change and focus on education.
The government work report declares Chinese government’s firm confidence to address challenges ahead its supply-side structural reform like economic growth, employment boost and innovation-driven development, the diplomat said, adding that Chinese economy is of crucial importance to world economic growth.
Commenting on the 6.7 percent growth China registered in 2016, the ambassador said that it was comparatively low by China’s standards, but given the global economic recession, the number was still one of the fastest growth rates in the world.
In the past year, China contributed over 30 percent to global economic expansion. China also created more job opportunities and improved its residents’ average income in 2016, he praised.
The GDP growth target at around 6.5 percent set by Chinese government for 2017, according to him, is realistic and at the same time will keep the economy on track.
“I am confident that China will continue to be the engine of global economic growth,” the diplomat said.
China plans to host the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing this May to brainstorm on interconnected development. Appreciating the move, Khalid believed that the forum will be a good opportunity for world leaders to discuss the global economic development and the issues faced by all the countries.
“I hope this forum will be successful in formulating a plan for not only effectively implementing the ‘Belt and Road’initiative but also addressing economic issues facing the international community,” the ambassador stressed.
He also described CPEC as the flagship project of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vision of the “Belt and Road”. “CPEC is now enriching the contents of China-Pakistan community of shared destiny and will also act as a model for other projects under the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative to follow in the future,” he said.
The CPEC, launched in 2013, is a 3,000-km network of roads, railways and pipelines linking Kashgar in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and southwest Pakistan’s Gwadar Port. Billions of population live along the route.
Data in 2016 showed that China was the largest tradingpartner and import source of Pakistan. In the first three quarters of the year, their accumulated two-way trade exceeded 14 billion dollars, and the value of newly-signed contracts by Chinese companies in the country amounted to 7.1 billion dollars.
“Textile sector is Pakistan’s biggest source of exports and therefore is of paramount importance to out economic development,” the diplomat said, adding that his countrywould like to benefit from China’s expertise and technical know-how in textile industry which will in turn boost theirexports.
“We have been discussing collaboration in this sector exploring possibilities of relocation of textile manufacturing units to Pakistan,” he told the People’s Daily.
