A senior official from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the terrorist activities targeting Chinese engineers and workers involved in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project in Pakistan are part of a broader conspiracy against CPEC.
According to a Googly News report, Pakistani authorities have assured Chinese leadership that those responsible for such actions will face strict accountability, and their networks will be dismantled to ensure their elimination. The official strongly refuted any notion that either Pakistan or China is considering limiting or withdrawing from the scope of the CPEC project.
During a meeting with an eight-member delegation of journalists from Pakistan who arrived in Beijing at the invitation of Chinese authorities, Mr. Shen Wei, Deputy Director of the Department of Asian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded to questions by stating that the exemplary friendship between China and Pakistan will thwart the schemes of those conspiring against the CPEC project. Mr. Shen Wei emphasized that the 73-year-old friendship between Pakistan and China is as high as the Himalayas and as deep as the sea, and the ambitions of those trying to create rifts will fail.
He mentioned that during the recent visit to China, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assured Chinese officials that every possible measure is being taken to ensure the safety of engineers and workers involved in CPEC projects in Pakistan. He further highlighted that 2023 marked the successful completion of ten years of the China-Pakistan CPEC project, benefiting the people of both nations. He revealed that more than 24,000 Pakistanis have been provided employment opportunities through CPEC projects to date. He also reminded that the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train project, completed in 2020 with the help of Chinese engineers, is now benefiting millions of Pakistanis.
In response to a question, Deputy Director Shen Wei said that the false propaganda by opponents of the CPEC project aimed at creating misunderstandings to affect China-Pakistan friendship will not succeed. He asserted that CPEC is mutually beneficial for both China and Pakistan, and the propaganda suggesting concerns about CPEC’s future from either country is completely unfounded. He affirmed that Pakistan is committed to completing the projects initiated under CPEC on time and is seriously countering efforts to disrupt the project through terrorist activities.