CPEC will not affect China’s stand on Kashmir: Beijing

TIL Desk/World/Beijing-The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor does not alter China’s long-standing Kashmir policy that the issue should be resolved bilaterally between India and Pakistan, Foreign Ministry said today, as it pushed for the early completion of the USD 46 billion project that traverses through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

CPEC reached a phase of implementation in “all round way,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing here, adding that Beijing would like to work with Pakistan to strive for “more progress and deliver tangible benefits” to the two sides at an early date.

A sound mechanism has been put in place by both the countries for the project to move ahead, she said. Asked about objections raised by India over the CPEC as it passes through the disputed region of PoK, she said, “We are well aware of these concerns but as has been said before, this CPEC is a platform for long term development.” “It targets no third country and we strongly believe that this Corridor will work for connectivity, regional peace and development,” she said.