CPEC Media Forum: Chinese leader outlines difficulties being faced

Says there is general lack of knowledge on Pakistani laws

BEIJING: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Project (CPEC) would remain a distant reality unless concrete steps are taken and political words are translated into actions.

This was the overall impression exuded by the Chinese at the CPEC Media Forum held in Beijing last week.

“Dreams and plans remain myths unless you take pragmatic steps to translate them into realities and it is true with the CPEC,” said Dr Zhao Baige, Vice Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of National Peoples Congress (NPC).

“CPEC is a crucial flagship project and if it fails then other projects will also face the same fate,” warned Zhao.

She urged that there was a strong need of consensus on the project within Pakistan so that it could smoothly sail through to the logical end. She said that both countries have had to work hard to make CPEC a successful initiative so that it could benefit millions of people.

Zhao, however, highlighted that there were certain challenges being faced by Chinese firms in the execution of CPEC-related projects. These include a lack of knowledge about labour-, land- and corporate-specific laws in Pakistan.

Additionally, she stressed that Chinese companies were facing technical challenges in finding the right partners who were familiar with the Chinese corporate culture.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on CPEC, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, said that strong relations between Pakistan and China are most crucial.

“Pakistan has been extending its unwavering support to China’s core interest and in return China has stood by Pakistan,” said Sayed.

Pakistan Ambassador to China Masood Khalid said the two countries are at the defining moment of their bilateral relations, adding that successful implementation of CPEC will bridge the gap between the two countries.

He also reiterated that there is strong consensus among all stakeholders on CPEC in Pakistan due to its multi-dimensional advantages.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2016.

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