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Security fears hinder Chinese projects in Pakistan
Ananth Krishnan
Chinese official says security concerns may impeded Xinjiang-Gwadar economic corridor plan
Concerns over security could hinder Chinas ambitious plans to build a road and rail network and economic corridor from the western Xinjiang region to Pakistan, a Chinese official has said.
Long-discussed proposals to take forward the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor got a boost last month when newly-elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Beijing and framed the project as one of his governments priorities.
The corridor envisages improving road links from Xinjiang to Pakistan, including expanding and bolstering the Karokaram Highway, as well as building railway lines and pipelines from Kashgar in Xinjiang to the Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea, which could open up a much-needed alternative route for Chinas energy imports. The security implications of the plan have concerned India as the corridor runs through ****************** Kashmir, which borders Xinjiang.
This week, a top Chinese planning official acknowledged that despite the recent attention, it could still be a long while before the project comes to fruition.
At a meeting in Beijing discussing the plan, Lin Dajian, a top official in the foreign affairs office of the National Development and Reform Commission, the planning authority, said security issues and challenges could impede the project, according to a report by the official Associated Press of Pakistan.
Pakistans Ambassador to China Masood Khalid, who attended the meeting, expressed optimism about the corridor. He said a task force and secretariat had been set up to take forward the project, while a team from Pakistan would visit China soon for further discussion.
Threats
Chinas growing concerns over security in Pakistan, in the wake of recent kidnapping threats to workers, have also slowed down other infrastructure projects executed by Chinese companies in the country. Analysts say Chinas investments in the country have, as a result, not kept pace with the often lofty rhetoric hailing all-weather relations.
Only a day after Ms. Lins note of caution, Xiong Lixin, vice-president of Sinohydro, one of Chinas biggest hydropower companies, was quoted as saying Chinese workers had to be escorted to construction sites in Pakistan in helicopters by armed guards.
Ananth Krishnan
Chinese official says security concerns may impeded Xinjiang-Gwadar economic corridor plan
Concerns over security could hinder Chinas ambitious plans to build a road and rail network and economic corridor from the western Xinjiang region to Pakistan, a Chinese official has said.
Long-discussed proposals to take forward the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor got a boost last month when newly-elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Beijing and framed the project as one of his governments priorities.
The corridor envisages improving road links from Xinjiang to Pakistan, including expanding and bolstering the Karokaram Highway, as well as building railway lines and pipelines from Kashgar in Xinjiang to the Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea, which could open up a much-needed alternative route for Chinas energy imports. The security implications of the plan have concerned India as the corridor runs through ****************** Kashmir, which borders Xinjiang.
This week, a top Chinese planning official acknowledged that despite the recent attention, it could still be a long while before the project comes to fruition.
At a meeting in Beijing discussing the plan, Lin Dajian, a top official in the foreign affairs office of the National Development and Reform Commission, the planning authority, said security issues and challenges could impede the project, according to a report by the official Associated Press of Pakistan.
Pakistans Ambassador to China Masood Khalid, who attended the meeting, expressed optimism about the corridor. He said a task force and secretariat had been set up to take forward the project, while a team from Pakistan would visit China soon for further discussion.
Threats
Chinas growing concerns over security in Pakistan, in the wake of recent kidnapping threats to workers, have also slowed down other infrastructure projects executed by Chinese companies in the country. Analysts say Chinas investments in the country have, as a result, not kept pace with the often lofty rhetoric hailing all-weather relations.
Only a day after Ms. Lins note of caution, Xiong Lixin, vice-president of Sinohydro, one of Chinas biggest hydropower companies, was quoted as saying Chinese workers had to be escorted to construction sites in Pakistan in helicopters by armed guards.
