Pakistani foreign minister expected to raise belt and road projects and disputed Kashmir in China meeting
- Neighbouring India is an issue likely to come up when Shah Mahmood Qureshi visits Beijing
- The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor includes two new power projects and the biggest rail line in Pakistan’s history
Pakistani media reported this week that Qureshi would make a one-day visit on Thursday, although neither government has confirmed the trip. China’s foreign ministry did not reply to questions from the South China Morning Post regarding the trip.
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Domestic media reports, citing unnamed sources, said Qureshi would discuss future economic corridor projects, regional security and Kashmir.
And both China and Pakistan have engaged in bloody conflicts in border regions since India’s moves last year, including a deadly border clash in the mountainous region of Ladakh between Indian and Chinese troops in June, which left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
According to Pakistani media reports, Qureshi said on Monday that cooperation platforms such as the CPEC and the Beijing-backed Shanghai Cooperation Organisation were part of his ministry’s strategy to push back against India’s “expansionist designs” in the conflict over Kashmir.
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Claude Rakisits, associate professor in diplomacy, at the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at the Australian National University said: “I suspect Kashmir will be discussed in the expected talks between Pakistan and China this week, but it won’t be as high on the agenda as CPEC.
“China wants to make sure that Pakistan doesn’t go wobbly, or move too slowly, on CPEC.”
Rakisits added that India, along with the United States, would be watching the China-Pakistan talks.
“But CPEC is a done deal and can’t be stopped. China has sent its message loud and clear on that one from Ladakh,” he said.
Both China and Pakistan have pledged that CPEC cooperation will not be impeded by the coronavirus economic slowdown affecting both countries, and new projects continue to be brought on board.
Last week, in an interview with domestic news outlet The Express Tribune, Pakistani Planning Minister Asad Umar announced that plans for the next financial year would be agriculture and science and technology projects.