MM Report
BEIJING: China has rejected India’s objections to infrastructure work in the Shaksgam Valley in Kashmir and New Delhi’s criticism of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
“First of all, the territory you have mentioned is part of China’s territory, and China’s infrastructure development activities in its own territory are beyond reproach,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during her regular briefing on Monday. Mao said that Pakistan and China signed a border agreement in the 1960s and formally determined the border between the two countries.
Spokesperson Mao Ning added that such agreements reflect the rights of Pakistan and China as sovereign states. CPEC, she said, is an economic cooperation initiative designed to boost local development and improve livelihoods. “Such agreements and CPEC will not affect China’s position on Kashmir, which remains unchanged,” she added.
India’s External Affairs Ministry had last Friday criticized China’s development projects in the Shaksgam Valley. It also opposed the 1963 China-Pakistan boundary agreement and voiced concern over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Earlier this month, Pakistan and China held the seventh round of their Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue in Beijing.
The talks were co-chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, who visited China from January 3 to 5. During the dialogue, the two sides agreed to develop an upgraded version of CPEC, known as CPEC 2.0.
