CPEC: China says $25bn invested in Pakistan since project launch

China has invested $25 billion so far in direct investment in Pakistan since the inception of China Pakistan Economic Corridor seven years ago, said Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's in a regular press conference stated: ‘The CPEC is an important pilot BRI project and a flagship for China-Pakistan bilateral cooperation. Since its building started more than seven years ago, major progress has been achieved and a lot of projects have been launched or completed, bringing over $25 billion of direct investment to Pakistan,” when questioned about Pakistani information minister recent statement regarding CPEC.

“Last month, the Orange Line, an early harvest project under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, was inaugurated in Lahore, introducing an era of metro train service for Pakistan. The completed projects have greatly improved the country's transport infrastructure and power supply, created more than 70,000 local jobs, contributed 1 to 2 percent to Pakistan's GDP growth every year, and significantly boosted its socio-economic development and people's wellbeing.”

“The CPEC contributes to not only economic and social development in China and Pakistan, but also regional connectivity and common development. Let's look at Gwadar Port. Nearly 20,000 tonnes of commodities such as wheat, sugar and fertilizer have been transferred via the port to Afghanistan since the first half of the year, creating almost 1,000 jobs in this process,” the spokesperson added.

The ministry said that they firmly support the building of CPEC. “We will continue working with Pakistan to implement our leaders' consensus, further focusing on cooperation in areas like social welfare, industries and agriculture while advancing existing projects, and forging the CPEC into a demonstration program for quality BRI cooperation that brings more benefits to people in China, Pakistan and the whole region,” it stated.

The spokesperson said that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation projects, including the CPEC, are open ones. “We welcome the participation of other countries that are interested, and together we can contribute to prosperity, stability and development of the region and beyond.”