Depite COVID-19, CPEC enjoying “smooth operations”, says China

China’s National Development and Reform Commission Director-General Ying Xiong said on Wednesday that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was enjoying “smooth operation” despite the severe impact of the coronavirus pandemic that hit the world in December 2019.

The Chinese official made these remarks while addressing an award ceremony held by the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad to recognise the outstanding work of the staffers for the development of CPEC.

Ying said despite Covid-19, the CPEC construction projects did not stop and added that neither the Pakistanis faced layoffs nor the Chinese workforce was withdrawn due to the pandemic. “The CPEC construction has bucked the trend with continuous new achievements,” the official added.

Appreciating the ties between Islamabad and Beijing, Ying said, “China’s development and growth is to the interest of Pakistan, and it is also China’s sincere hope that Pakistan can enjoy stable development to become prosperous.”

“Energy projects are now in normal and stable operation. Major progress has been made in transportation infrastructure cooperation. Cooperation in industries and other fields has been advancing rapidly. Agriculture, as well as science and technology cooperation, has been hedging forward steadily,” he said while listing the achievements under CPEC.

The official said that international cooperation and coordination, as well as security-related issues, have been implemented in an orderly manner. He also appreciated the “outstanding staff awarded” at the ceremony, saying their “dedication, innovation and devotion” reflected the strength of the CPEC.

“All relevant authorities in China, as guided by the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and in the spirit of the 10th JCC Meeting, are closely following the “1+4” cooperation layout, centering on CPEC construction and focusing on Gwadar Port, energy, infrastructure development and industrial cooperation.”

He said under the CPEC, China is “dedicated to building healthy corridors, actively creating industrial corridors, speeding up the flow of trade corridors, earnestly developing digital corridors, promoting the formation of green corridors.”

China’s Ambassador in Pakistan Nong Rong said 2021 marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan.

“It is also a year that witnessed the deepening of all-round cooperation between the two countries, in particular the CPEC.”

During this year, the CPEC has always been the focus of our two countries, he said, adding that Pakistan and China both want to promote cooperation in agriculture and digital economy through the CPEC.

The aim of the CPEC is to “comprehensively build the health, industrial, trade, digital, and green corridors, so as to build the CPEC into a demonstration project for high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative”, he added.

The Chinese envoy appreciated PM Imran Khan’s commitment towards the CPEC, saying the premier “chaired a series of meetings on CPEC, including the one for industry development, and held two seminars with Chinese entrepreneurs”.

“The Pakistan government established the China-Pakistan Relations Steering Committee to coordinate and resolve CPEC issues; introduced the special visa policy for CPEC to facilitate investment; set up a Foreign National Security Cell to strengthen security measures,” he said, adding that these measures boosted confidence in the development of the CPEC.

According to Nong, “With joint efforts, the Rashakai Special Economic Zone has been launched, the north part of the Gwadar Free Zone is under construction, the Matiari-Lahore HVDC Transmission Line has brought Pakistan into a new era of AC-DC hybrid power grid, the Karot Hydropower Project started water storage, the Gwadar Technical and Vocational Institute was completed.”

He said these developments will create more jobs, increase incomes and improve skills on an individual level, and from the perspective of the country, will boost Pakistan’s economic and social development, promote industrialisation and urbanisation, and enhance connectivity.

Nong also appreciated the CPEC staffers, saying these achievements were “not possible without joint efforts of staff from both China and Pakistan”.

“In particular, the 27 outstanding Pakistani staff who participated in the award ceremony today, are outstanding representatives in this regard. You have shown your diligence and dedication in promoting the CPEC and building your motherland.”

During the ceremony, the representatives of the Pakistani staff from three projects (Arsalan Khan of Karot Hydropower Project; Fazal Rahim of Port Qasim Power Plant; Yousuf Karim of KKH Phrase-II Havelian-Thakot) delivered their speeches. CPEC Authority chief Khalid Mansoor, Planning Minister Asad Umar, and others also spoke on the occasion.