China hits back at US over CPEC

Islamabad: Chinese embassy on Wednesday took strong notice of a negative statement by US Secretary of State Ms. Alice Wells in regard to CPEC, and said it is nothing but just denying the basic facts and spreading rumors.

There is no truth whatsoever in her reported allegations that there was no transparency in CPEC projects, and that Pakistan’s debt burden was growing due to the Chinese financing.

Alice in her statement had further alleged cost escalation in railways ML-1 upgrade project, and said the Chinese companies joining CPEC is in World Bank’s blacklist.

When asked to comment on her statement, a spokesperson of the Chinese embassy said: “We noted that during her recent visit to Pakistan, Ms. Alice Wells Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs of the US State Department, made negative comments on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor again. The comments hold nothing new, but the same cliché in her speech in November, 2019, which has been repeatedly rejected by China and Pakistan. However the US side still ignores the facts and is obsessed with the story it made for the CPEC. We would be more than glad to see the US develop its relationship with Pakistan, but we strongly oppose the US interferes into China-Pakistan relations and the CPEC. Although you can never wake up a person who is pretending to be asleep, we have to make our position clear and reject the negative propaganda by the US. We must not let the truth be distorted and the lies run wild.

In CPEC projects, China and Pakistan have been firmly committed to the principles of mutual consultation and cooperation for shared benefits. We put Pakistani people’s interests first. Major progress has been achieved in the past 5 years, with 32 projects achieving early harvests.

This has significantly improved local transportation infrastructure and power supply, created over 75,000 jobs directly and contributed one to two percent of the GDP growth in Pakistan.

It shows that the CPEC is playing an important role in boosting Pakistan’s socioeconomic development and improving people’s livelihood. Whether the CPEC works, the answer should be given by the Pakistani people rather than the US.

Under the CPEC, during its planning or implementation, every project is equally discussed, carefully studied and jointly implemented by both China and Pakistan. The Chinese government always requests the Chinese companies to operate according to local laws and regulations. All Chinese companies joining the CPEC enjoy international reputation.

All projects strictly follow the market-oriented and internationally accepted business model, adopt state of art technology and strict environmental protection standards. The entire process is open and transparent and is in line with international norm. We keep in touch with the relative accountability agencies of Pakistan and it is agreed that the CPEC is clean. The US holds a stick of sanction all over the world blacklists this and that country, but it is not for global economy, just ways to serve its own political purpose.

Regarding the so-called debt issue, according to statistics from the State Bank of Pakistan, the total foreign debt of Pakistan is 110 billion US dollars. In fact, international financial institutions including the Paris Club and IMF are the largest creditors of Pakistan.

Loan for the CPEC is about 5.8 billion US dollars, accounting for 5.3% of Pakistan’s total foreign debt, with a repayment period of 20-25 years and an interest rate of approximately 2%.

Its repayments will start in 2021, with annual repayments of about 300 million US dollars. It will never be a burden to Pakistan.

Moreover, China has never forced other countries to pay debts, and will not make unreasonable demands on Pakistan. The US keeps fabricating the so-called debt story, their mathematics is bad, and their intention is worse.

As to the cost of the ML-1 project, we have said many times. The initial design of the project was jointly accomplished by the China Railway No 2 Bureau, National Engineering Services Pakistan Limited (NESPAK), and Pakistan Railway Advisory & Consultancy Services Ltd (PRACS). The project was launched in 2016, and the initial designs were submitted in May 2017.

In April, 2019, it has successfully passed the initial design review, organized by Pakistan Railways (PR), of the complex including Mott McDonald Pakistan (MMP), Canarail and the Crimson. As the project has not yet been approved, the amounts of the project will be adjusted according to the actual condition and the needs of Pakistan. After finalizing the design of the project, we would initiate bidding in accordance with international practice. This is a completely normal business practice.

We also want to advise the US that when you accuse China-Pakistan relations, you should first look back what have you done to Pakistan, and think about how much contribution have you make for Pakistan. Did Ms. Wales bring any aid, investment or trade for Pakistan during her visit? If the US truly cares about the development and prosperity of Pakistan and this region, it should bring cash and funds, promote win-win cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, fairness, and justice, rather than act as a world policeman, spreading rumors and provoking China-Pakistan relations.

China-Pakistan ties are rock-solid and unbreakable. China will continue to work with the Pakistani government and people to steadily advance the BRI and CPEC to promote regional peace and development.”