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XINHUA-PAKISTAN SERVICE

Chinese media takes notice of financial Times’s report on CPECBreaking

September 11, 2018

BEIJING, Sept 11 (INP): Chinese media’s took notice of the Financial Times’ report on CPEC, and stated that Industrialization is most viable way-out for Pakistan to overcome its financial and socio- economic problems.

Quoting the report, Chinese newspaper the Global Times said, the problems Pakistan is confronting are inevitable in the process of industrialization.

Quite a few developing countries are facing debt problems, a lack of funds, and are thus advancing industrialization in the face of great difficulties. But the only way to solve the puzzle is to keep pushing and boosting industrialization, instead of retreating from it.

As a Chinese saying goes, if you want to get rich, you have to build roads first. The "roads" in this proverb refers to infrastructure construction. Without electricity and transportation networks, it is impossible for any nation to develop manufacturing and logistics industries. The projects of CPEC, in this regard, can help Pakistan break the bottleneck in its development.

Western media tend to connect the debt crisis in countries along the BRI with China. But on Saturday last week, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was visiting Pakistan, tossed out specific numbers to clarify such speculation.

He said 47 percent of Pakistan's debt comes from multilateral financial institutions and among the 22 projects of the CPEC, 18 are directly invested in or aided by China, while only four are financed with China's concessional loans.

During Wang's tour, he articulated that China will encourage imports from Pakistan and work to broaden market access for Pakistan's agricultural products, and both sides will work to complete negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement by the end of the year.

The two sides also reached consensus to focus on helping to develop Pakistan's manufacturing industry as well as its independent development capabilities, so as to make more Pakistani people benefit from the CPEC.

How should Beijing promote CPEC in the wake of these recent developments? Beijing will respect Pakistan's decision. It is Islamabad's choice whether to cut down some of its foreign cooperation based on its own capabilities.

INP/J/AK