China says it supports extension of CPEC to Afghanistan

(Karachi) China supports extension of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan as it will prove beneficial for the Afghan people.

In a tweet on Friday, Chinese Embassy in Pakistan stated, "China supports the extension of #CPEC to Afghanistan, which will bring more #BRI benefits to the Afghan people." It added, "China is pleased to see Gwadar port plays a positive role in this process & stands ready to work together with Pakistan & Afghanistan in this regard."

China also commended resumption of trade relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan after both the neighbouring countries managed to bring down the impact of coronavirus outbreak.

Chinese FM Spox: China supports the extension of #CPEC to Afghanistan, which will bring more #BRI benefits to the Afghan people. China is pleased to see Gwadar port plays a positive role in this process & stands ready to work together with Pakistan & Afghanistan in this regard.

— Chinese Emb Pakistan (@CathayPak) July 17, 2020

In recent days, Pakistan opened five major routes with Afghanistan for transit trade to help war-ravaged Afghanistan boost trade. The border crossings will remain open 24 hours a day and six days a week to facilitate cross-border trade, which has been affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic in both countries.

Besides the two major routes, Pakistan has also opened three other routes with Afghanistan including Ghulam Khan in North Waziristan tribal district, Angor Adda in South Waziristan tribal district and Kharlachi in Kurram tribal district.

Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a briefing that Pakistan and Afghanistan overcome impact of the Covid-19 and restored their trade and people to people exchange."As neighbour and friend to both countries, off course China wants to see better relations between the two and economic growth of the two," Hua stated.

He added, “We will like to play a constructive role in this regard.”

“China supports the extension of CPEC to Afghanistan, which will bring more Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) benefits to the Afghan people. China is also pleased to see the Gwadar port, among other CPEC projects, plays a positive role in this process and stands ready to work together with Pakistan and Afghanistan in this regard,” the Chinese official remarked.

The economic cooperation between Pakistan, Afghanistan and China on the BRI Initiative would provide economic benefit to the three countries.

Regional powers eye the CPEC project as a game changer in South Asia as the mega scheme is worth 60 billion dollars that aims to connect Xinjiang region of China to Gwadar port.

In October 2016, Afghanistan expressed desire to join the CPEC. In a bid to become part of the project, former Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal stated that a development project at such a huge scale would be beneficial for Afghanistan.

On the other hand, Pakistan desires to gain access to Central Asia through Afghanistan and gain economic relief by returning Afghan refugees to their country.