ISLAMABAD: Beijing has reiterated its calls for Islamabad to create a “safe, stable and predictable” environment for Chinese workers, projects and institutions operating inside Pakistan and crack down on militant groups working against Chinese interests in the South Asian nation, Beijing’s ambassador said on Sunday.
China is a major ally and investor in Pakistan but both separatist and religiously motivated militants have attacked Chinese projects over recent years, killing Chinese personnel. In the most high-profile recent attack, five Chinese workers were killed in a suicide bombing in March. It was the third major attack on Chinese interests in Pakistan in a week.
In an interview to state-run Pakistani news agency APP, Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong said President Xi Jinping had discussed security challenges with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif when he visited China in June.
“President Xi Jinping made it clear that China supports Pakistan in firmly combating terrorism and hopes that Pakistan will continue to create a safe, stable and predictable business environment and effectively protect the safety of Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan,” the envoy said.
Sharif had “promised” that Pakistan would “resolutely crack down on and severely punish the terrorists involved” in recent attacks and take all measures necessary to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan, Jiang added.
Speaking about Sharif’s visit, the envoy said its focus was on strategic and security cooperation and materializing an upgraded version of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in line with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Under CPEC, Beijing has pledged over $65 billion in investment in road, infrastructure and development projects in Pakistan as part of the Belt and Road scheme.
“Through Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit, the leaders of the two countries have drawn a blueprint, pointed out the path, and determined measures for the development of China-Pakistan relations in the new era,” he said, adding that the two leaders had agreed on cooperation in various sectors including mining, development of offshore oil and gas resources, clean energy, artificial intelligence, science and technology, finance and space cooperation.
Consensus had been reached, the envoy said, on accelerating the Main Line-1 railways and Karakoram Highway projects, the year-round operation of the Khunjerab Pass, development of Gwadar Port and supporting Chinese companies to invest and operate in Special Economic Zones.
“At present, China-Pakistan cooperation is facing important opportunities for quality improvement and upgrading, ” Jiang said, “but also under the realistic pressure of climbing over obstacles.”
