CPEC is a purely economic project: China

BEIJING: The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is purely an economic cooperation project that does not involve the issue of territorial disputes against any third party, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

“China has clarified its position on many occasions and I will not repeat it here,” said Hua Chunying during a regular press conference held by the Chinese foreign ministry.

Responding to a question regarding the Indian ambassador to China’s interview with the “Global Times” last week where he had said that the CPEC project is a major issue for bilateral ties between the two countries, Chunying said differences between any two countries require sincerity and flexibility from both parties by promoting understanding and mutual trust through dialogues.

“In the spirit of equality and mutual respect to resolving the issues, I hope that India will treat this issue objectively,” she added.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson welcomed a question about Prime Minister Shahid Abbasi’s statement regarding the Belt and Road initiative during the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

“We have noticed the report. The Chinese side has said many times that the main objective of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China is to strengthen development cooperation and promote win-win development by strengthening international cooperation and focusing on infrastructure interconnection and mutual development.”

Regarding the border issue between China and India Hua said that China has said many times that India should learn from history.

“Donglong belongs to China and has always been under China's effective jurisdiction.”

“China has made it clear that it will continue to exercise its sovereignty rights in the important area in accordance with the stipulations of historical conventions and unswervingly safeguard its own territorial sovereignty.”

The Chinese side's infrastructure construction activities in the Donglong area belong to the affairs within the sovereignty of China and are completely legitimate, she added.

The spokesperson also said that China has seen reports from the Indian media on many occasions about the country building roads and bridges in the border areas and its plans to increase the deployment force.

“I would like to emphasize that it is the consensus of both parties to make joint efforts to safeguard the peace and stability in the border areas between China and India”.

She further said India should create a good atmosphere for ensuring a healthy and stable development of China-India relations.