China to work with Pakistan for implementing Karachi project: spokesperson

BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying has said that China was willing to work with Pakistan for the implementation of the outcomes of the recently held 10th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), including the Karachi project.

“In the recently held 10th meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee of CPEC, China and Pakistan agreed to include the Karachi project in the CPEC framework and listed as an outcome of the meeting,” she said, during her regular briefing, while commenting on the inclusion of $3.5 billion Karachi Comprehensive Coastal Development Zone (KCCDZ) project in the CPEC framework.

In a tweet, Prime Minister Imran Khan termed the inclusion of Karachi Coastal Development Zone in the CPEC as a game changer and expressed the hope that it would help clean up the marine habitat for fishermen, develop low-income housing units and create investment opportunities. It would put Karachi at par with the developed port cities.

Chunying said that China and Pakistan were all weather strategic cooperation partners and the CPEC was a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative.

“China is willing to work with Pakistan to implement the common understanding of the two leaders and also [the] outcome of the JCC meeting,” she added.

She said the Chinese side would ensure smooth operation and construction of existing projects and highlight the cooperation in health, green economy and digital areas.

“We will work on other fronts in our cooperation, improve the quality of the joint building of CPEC and provide new impetus to the development and the people’s livelihood,” she added.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on CPEC Affairs Dr Khalid Mansoor said that the inclusion of KCCDZ in CPEC in the 10th Joint Cooperation Committee for CPEC would expand the horizon of development for the country.

Mansoor said that it was an opportunity for the international investors to invest in Pakistan. “The multi-billion-dollar CPEC project has entered into its second phase.

The establishment of Special Economic Zones and the involvement of the private sectors would make Pakistan a manufacturing hub,” he added.