Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a delegation level meeting to discuss the revitalisation of the projects under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The CPEC passes through parts of the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh which are under illegal and forcible occupation of Pakistan and challenges the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.
Delegation level meeting between Pakistan 🇵🇰 and China 🇨🇳 headed by PM Shehbaz and President Xi starts in the Great Hall, Beijing. The aim of the meeting is to revitalise CPEC projects in various sectors. #PMShehbazinChina pic.twitter.com/Z2BjbiRTTA
— Abubakar Umer (@abubakarumer) November 2, 2022
Pakistani news media outlets said Sharif was accorded a red carpet welcome and the Chinese forces presented him with a guard of honour. This is the first time Shehbaz is visiting China after taking office and also happens to be the first leader to visit China after it recently concluded its twice-a-decade party congress.
#LATEST 🇨🇳Chinese President Xi Jinping to have a meeting with🇵🇰Pakistani PM @CMShehbaz in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. pic.twitter.com/pVlWdtbbrL
— Shen Shiwei (@shen_shiwei) November 2, 2022
The news agency YEARS in a report said that during the meeting three new health and digital corridors will be launched during the high-level meeting.
In order to be in Xi Jinping’s good books, who is also concerned about the attacks on CPEC projects by separatists, $12 billion worth of three major projects for inclusion in the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) were cleared just ahead of the meeting, according to a report by the Dawn.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet and the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) summoned officials and after several hurried meetings, presided over by finance minister Ishaq Dar, these projects were delivered to the members on table.
Chinese investors demanded for a long time to set up escrow accounts for automatic payment of their dues against electricity supply.
These will be pitched to the Chinese delegation as their share in the project is close to $8.4 billion.
Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif before landing in Islamabad lauded China and said there is much to learn from the Chinese economic miracle. The Chinese economy, however, faces pressure from the Covid Zero model which affects factory output and economic growth.
The visit comes shortly after Islamabad requested Beijing to roll over its $6.3 billion debt as the economy struggles to cope in the aftermath of the devastating floods.
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