China rejects smear campaign against CPEC

'China advancing relevant cooperation always following principle of mutual respect, consensus'

BEIJING:

China on Tuesday firmly rejected certain media for creation of fake news with deliberate attempt to smear the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) building and China-Pakistan relations.

"China firmly rejects certain media's attempts to smear the CPEC building and China-Pakistan relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry's Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said during his regular briefing.

Some media outlets reported on Monday that protests had broken out in the Gwadar region, opposing the excessive fishing rights given to Chinese trawlers, saying this was not good for local people and will have negative impact on people's livelihood.

The spokesperson said, "This is completely fake news. Certain media's hyping up of the protests against China in Gwadar region lacks factual basis."

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He said that after verification, there was no Chinese trawler that went to the Gwadar Port area for fishing or docking and reiterated that Gwadar Port as a leading project of CPEC has been focusing on the development and people's livelihood.

Lijian remarked that China is advancing relevant cooperation always following the principle of mutual respect and consensus. It is worth mentioning that during the Chinese foreign ministry regular briefing held yesterday, an Indian journalist while asking a question claimed that last week, there were protests in Gwadar regarding excessive fishing rights given to the Chinese trawlers in the coast of Gwadar port.

The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson had replied that he was not aware of the specific situation the Indian journalist mentioned. However, after the verification by the Chinese side, the so-called media report proved to be fake news.