China rubbishes claims of 'wrongdoing' in CPEC

In a rare rebuttal, Chinese embassy officials on Monday brushed aside allegations of 'wrongdoing' in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

CPEC is once again in the spotlight causing damage to the project by making it controversial.

"For those who accuse CPEC projects of corruption, there is one Chinese saying: Gauge the heart of a gentleman with one's own mean measure," acting Chinese ambassador Lijian Zhao said on Twitter.



https://twitter.com/zlj517/status/810940401020530688

Among the many criticisms of the mega project comes the claim that Punjab province is set to be the biggest beneficiary over other smaller provinces.



Scathing criticism surfaced on social media against the project whereby, China was being accused of using 'prisoners as labour'. Pushing back on further criticisms and dismissing allegations of corruption, Zhao clarified that "China punished 1.01 million officials since 2013."

https://twitter.com/zlj517/status/810943087673479168

https://twitter.com/zlj517/status/810935551901601792

CPEC has been heralded as a “game-changer” that promises to bring peace and prosperity to Pakistan. It is a package of infrastructure and energy projects originally priced at USD 46 billion, though recently the figure has increased to USD 51 billion after China committed to fund the Karachi-Lahore rail line.