Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed hope that China and Pakistan will cooperate to create the conditions for the early construction of the Main Line-1 (ML-1) and Karachi Circular Railway projects, The Hong Kong Post reported citing state media.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is the primary factor influencing China’s “easy-going” relations with Pakistan (CPEC).
Due to its connection to the Belt and Road Initiative, the CPEC project is immensely important to Beijing.
The Hong Kong Post reported Xi Jinping intends to make “CPEC an exemplar of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.”
In order to congratulate Chinese President Xi Jinping on winning a third term at the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif travelled to Beijing.
Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, was required to update Xi Jinping on the CPEC project’s status during his visit to China.
According to a state media source published by The Hong Kong Post, Xi deemed it “important” to expedite the building of Gwadar Port’s auxiliary infrastructure in order to highlight the port’s role in promoting interconnected development in the area.
China, according to Xi Jinping, would keep working to support Pakistan in its efforts to improve its financial circumstances.
Notably, up until Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan was a cricketer-turned-politician, China was happy with the project’s progress.
The government, which is governed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has repeatedly criticised the CPEC project while expressing no overt interest in it.
Beijing anticipates using its clout to influence events along the land and water “silk routes” connecting China and Europe.
The land route for the project is via the Himalayan region near the Chinese border, while the sea route travels across the Indian Ocean region.
(with inputs from agencies)
