China hails Imran Khan’s remarks on Pak-China relations
ISLAMABAD (PPA) – A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson highly appreciated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for his remarks on China and Pakistan relations and said this statement fully showed that no matter how the domestic situation changed in the two countries, China-Pakistan all-weather strategic partnership would not be shaken, which was in the common interest of the two countries and the people.
The spokesperson said, he (Imran Khan) has said many times before that the relations with China were the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy. There were some apprehensions in China that if Imran Khan comes to power in Pakistan the CPEC projects may face some difficulties. But according to Pakistani officials, he (Imran Khan) was not opposed to the CPEC projects but he always wanted the contracts in a transparent way and had expressed fears regarding Sharif’s alleged corrupt practices and mismanagements of all development projects.
China’s concerns were removed on Monday when China’s Ambassador to Pakistan met with Imran Khan at his residence and assured all-out support for developments all over Pakistan. ?Early in the week, China also released two billion dollars to support Pakistan’s declining economy.
The Chinese were also surprised by Imran Khan’s Chinese language twit commending China’s contribution and supporting CPEC projects on Sunday.
In 2014 when the Pak-China CPEC project was gaining ground in Pakistan, Imran Khan and his followers were engaged in a 4-month-long sit-in in the capital Islamabad. The protest kept countless stakeholders of the mega project on edge.
The cricketer-turned-politician subsequently had to explain on various occasions, even during meetings with Chinese diplomats, that he was neither against Chinese projects nor the CPEC. Imran Khan’s plan is a clear pivot by Pakistan, away from the US orbit and further into the Chinese bloc.
His willingness to ensure the completion of the Belt and Road flagship project, his determination to cooperate with China, and his pledge to revise lopsided relations with the US at least clarify one thing from the Haze of Pakistani elections – that China has a friend in Imran Khan.