China Consul General in Lahore Mr. Zhao Shiren has said that all the projects initiated under the multibillion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on the Pakistani soil belonged to Pakistan. In an exclusive interview with digital media platform here in Islamabad, Mr. Shiren said that the people of Pakistan should develop a sense of ownership of the CPEC projects. He said that the CPEC projects were for the benefits of Pakistani people. He said that CPEC was not only for economic benefits, people-to-people contact or cultural interactions, but it was more than that. He said that CPEC was like one package for all, including all the elements and dimensions of the Pakistan-China relationship.

He said that the CPEC was really the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping for the regional inter-connectivity. Besides Chinese government, Chinese people and Communist Party of China, President Xi Jinping personally cherished for Pakistan-China relations, he explained. He strongly rejected the negative propaganda of western powers that CPEC was a kind of ulterior motive. He stressed the need that Pakistan and China have to make extra efforts to counter the negative propaganda as well as narrative spread by the external factors against CPEC.

Mr. Shiren further said that the CPEC played an important role in social transformation and economic growth of Pakistan. He said that the CPEC mainly covered transportation, energy and infrastructure building sectors in Pakistan. He said that CPEC is developing from Phase-I to Phase-II, covering more sectors like IT technology, healthcare, education and renewable energy. He said that under the umbrella of CPEC, Pakistan was able to successfully tackle the deficit in power supply. Mr. Shiren further said that the CPEC was not only overcoming power deficit and infrastructure building, but it was also creating employment opportunities for the locals, especially youth. He said that by the end of 2022, CPEC had created more than 266,000 jobs for the locals, apart from more than 155,000 direct jobs.

Besides learning and moving upward socially, it also provides decent jobs and pays to the Pakistani youth, he added. He said that the CPEC should not be deemed as a gift from China to Pakistan, but it should be considered as joint venture and undertaking put forward by Pakistan and China. He said that Pakistan should always be on the driver seat and this was the beauty and essence of CPEC. He further said that CPEC was mainly for geo-economics and not for any geopolitics or strategic competition or some other kind of proxy. Mr. Shiren said that CPEC had gotten new momentum and sustained vibrant growth with the exchanges and high-level visits by Pakistani and Chinese officials.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP