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Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Saturday ahead of the Belt and Road Initiative summit. Photo: Reuters

Press on with China-Pakistan new Silk Road flagship project, Xi Jinping urges

In a flurry of diplomatic activity ahead of Sunday’s summit, Xi Jinping calls on China and Pakistan to advance a network linking the two countries

President Xi Jinping urged China and Pakistan on Saturday to press on with work the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project in Beijing’s drive to revive ancient trade routes.

Xi made the comment in a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, one of dozens of leaders in the Chinese capital for the two-day “Belt and Road Initiative” summit, which starts on Sunday.

Leaders from 29 countries will attend the forum, an event to ­promote Xi’s vision of expanding trade links between Asia, Africa and Europe through billions of dollars in infrastructure investment. The US$46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the first project to receive an investment from China’s Silk Road Fund, is one of the initiative’s centrepieces. When finished, it be a network of roads, rail lines, oil and gas pipelines, ports, airports and economic zones linking Xinjiang in China to the Gwadar Port in Balochistan, Pakistan.

Xi also called for progress on supplementary projects in and around the port as well as a study on the construction of industrial parks along the corridor, state-run Xinhua reported.

The corridor is expected to add a major economic dimension to the already close political and security ties between Islamabad and Beijing. But the project is also controversial because it will run through disputed territory ­between Pakistan and India.

Security in the region is ­another concern, with at least 10 labourers gunned down yesterday while working on link roads to connect outlying towns to the port, Reuters reported.

Xi said the two countries should strengthen cooperation on areas including counterterrorism and security, and improve ­coordination on major international and regional affairs.

China wanted to deepen cooperation with Pakistan under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Xi said.

The Chinese president also held separate meetings with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Swiss President Doris Leuthard, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis ­Tsipras.

In talks with Tsipras, Xi promised strong support for heavily indebted Greece, saying the two countries should expand cooperation in infrastructure, energy and telecommunications, Reuters ­reported.

A US$3.28 billion deal was signed between Greek infrastructure group Copelouzos and China’s Shenhua Group to work on green energy projects and ­upgrades to power plants in Greece and other countries, ­Copelouzos said on Friday.

China has been investing heavily in Greece in recent years.

Its biggest shipping company, Cosco Shipping, bought a majority stake in the Piraeus Port Authority last year under a plan to turn Greece into a transhipment hub for rapidly growing trade between Asia and Eastern Europe.

Xi suggested to Leuthard that talks with Switzerland on upgrading a free-trade agreement should begin as soon as possible.

He also urged the two countries to align Beijing’s “Made in China 2025” strategy with Switzerland’s Industry 4.0 proposals; improve cooperation in finance, aviation, culture and winter sports; and work closely on the China-Switzerland Year of ­Tourism in 2017.

Also yesterday, the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which finances the “Belt and Road Initiative”, ­approved seven new members of the bank. The new members are ­Bahrain, Bolivia, Chile, Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Samoa, bringing the bank’s total membership to 77 countries.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: ‘Press on’ with new silk road flagship
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