Chinese vice premier gets red carpet welcome in Pakistan to 'celebrate' troubled BRI project

Pakistan laid out the red carpet for visiting Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng who is on a three-day trip to India's neighbour to commemorate 10 years of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a project that New Delhi has often flagged as parts of it passes through India's Jammu and Kashmir under illegal Chinese and Pakistani occupation respectively.

The celebration will take place for the CPEC project despite the looming economic crisis that has gripped Pakistan due to increasing Chinese loans in the country.

During his Pakistan visit, Lifeng is scheduled to hold meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi.

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The China Pakistan Economic Corridor is a flagship project of China’s faltering Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

BRI is an ambitious international infrastructure investment programme launched by Beijing which aims to link Asia with Africa and Europe as a matter of revival of the ancient Silk Road. The project is facing roadblocks due to concerns related to China's territorial assertiveness and 'debt-trap' funding apparatus.

The effort, however, is pumped with billions of dollars in funding for infrastructure projects, including the construction of ports from Sri Lanka to West Africa, the paving of motorways from Papua New Guinea to Kenya, and the provision of power and telecoms infrastructure for people in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Also watch |Pakistan: Protests against CPEC continue in Gwadar, demand for Chinese to leave

In 2019, Italy became the only major Western country and the only country from the G7 group of advanced economies to join the BRI. But over the weekend, Italy's defence minister said that joining China’s vast Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was an "atrocious" decision and the 21st century's Roman challenge is to leave the BRI without damaging ties with Beijing.

China-Pakistan ties and Lifeng's role

Reports in Pakistani media said that Lifeng has played a "prominent role" in China’s international economic relations and implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.

He was "instrumental in the planning and execution of multiple CPEC projects in Pakistan" while serving as chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission from 2017 to 2023, the Foreign Office had stated.

Pakistanis had hoped that the CPEC would turn the economic fortunes of the country. The country's deepening economic troubles have been partially blamed on CPEC's economic non-feasibility.

The investment has only had debilitating impact on Pakistani economy amid Islamabad's fostering of terrorism.

"Security stands out as the core problem that hinders the realisation of Chinese goals," Azeem Khalid, assistant professor of international relations at COMSATS University Islamabad told AFP. He added, "This factor is the primary reason why CPEC has not reached its full functional potential yet."

Over the past many years, the CPEC projects have been attacked by militants, engineers have been abducted and protests have erupted from regionalists seeking independence from Islamabad.

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