Top Pakistani, Chinese diplomats discuss multibillion dollars CPEC project

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Pakistani counterpart Jalil Abbas Jilani met in Tibet on Thursday to discuss a string of issues, mainly the multi-billion dollars China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The two top diplomats met on the sidelines of the Third Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation in Tibet Autonomous Region.

Emphasizing the positive trajectory of bilateral ties, they discussed various aspects of the Pakistan-China friendship and exchanged views on regional and global matters, said a statement from Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.

The meeting came weeks after China reportedly refused to further expand cooperation in areas of energy, water management, and climate change under the CPEC, which is part of Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.

However, the statement said the two foreign ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the CPEC and pledged to enhance high-level exchanges and strategic communication to ensure continued cooperation.

Citing minutes of the 11th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC), a strategic decision-making body of CPEC, local English daily Express Tribune reported that Islamabad has agreed to "a number of Chinese demands to address Beijing’s concerns."

Although the JCC meeting was held in Oct 2022, its minutes were signed on July 31 during the visit of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to Islamabad.

The minutes revealed that Beijing did not agree to a slew of measures proposed by Pakistan in the areas of energy, water management, climate change, and tourism in different parts of the country.

Both Beijing and Islamabad were silent on the media reports.

The $64 billion CPEC, signed in 2015, aims to connect China's strategically important northwestern Xinjiang province to the Gwadar port in southern Pakistan, through a network of roads, railways, and pipelines to transport cargo, oil, and gas.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​