‘Chinese investment in Gwadar port is purely economic’

Institute of Regional Studies holds a roundtable on Sino-Pak ties.

KARACHI: “Chinese investment in the Gwadar port is purely economic,” said Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of a leading Chinese daily, Global Times, on Wednesday. He was speaking at a roundtable organised by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) on Pakistan-China relations with the editorial staff of Global Times. He added that China will make all the necessary investments in the port to make it fully operational to support Chinese trade with West Asia.

Xijin said that China considered Pakistan an important friendly neighbouring country and that Chinese investors wanted to invest in projects in Pakistan. He added, however, that some Chinese investors were apprehensive about the security situation in Pakistan.

Responding to a question about the trade imbalance between China and Pakistan, he said that China was a free market economy where the government cannot dictate the companies to import products from other countries if they were not market competitive.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2013.

Like Business on Facebook to stay informed and join in the conversation.