Roundtable discussion: ‘Investment in Gwadar is economic’

Xijin that China does not want to undertake projects in any country that are opposed by the host communities.

ISLAMABAD: A Chinese journalist dispelled the idea that China will develop the Gwadar port as its naval base. “Chinese investment in the Gwadar port is purely economic,” Hu Xijin said. Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the Global Times, a Chinese daily newspaper, was speaking at a roundtable organised by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) on Pak-China relations on Thursday. He said Chinese investors want to invest in Pakistan but some of them are apprehensive about the security situation. He added that China does not want to undertake projects in any country that are opposed by the host communities. Ashraf Azim, president of IRS, also rejected India’s concerns about a Chinese naval base in Gwadar as baseless. Azim said the transfer of port operations to China Overseas Port Holdings Limited is an achievement of the current government.

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