Press on with China-Pakistan new Silk Road flagship project, Xi Jinping urges
In a flurry of diplomatic activity ahead of Sunday’s summit, Xi Jinping calls on China and Pakistan to advance a network linking the two countries
President Xi Jinping urged China and Pakistan on Saturday to press on with work the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project in Beijing’s drive to revive ancient trade routes.
Xi made the comment in a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, one of dozens of leaders in the Chinese capital for the two-day “Belt and Road Initiative” summit, which starts on Sunday.
Leaders from 29 countries will attend the forum, an event to promote Xi’s vision of expanding trade links between Asia, Africa and Europe through billions of dollars in infrastructure investment. The US$46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the first project to receive an investment from China’s Silk Road Fund, is one of the initiative’s centrepieces. When finished, it be a network of roads, rail lines, oil and gas pipelines, ports, airports and economic zones linking Xinjiang in China to the Gwadar Port in Balochistan, Pakistan.
Xi also called for progress on supplementary projects in and around the port as well as a study on the construction of industrial parks along the corridor, state-run Xinhua reported.
The corridor is expected to add a major economic dimension to the already close political and security ties between Islamabad and Beijing. But the project is also controversial because it will run through disputed territory between Pakistan and India.