Exclusive | Pakistan envoy says China belt and road links growing despite terror attacks on projects

Pakistan-China friendship has ‘weathered many challenges’, ambassador Khalil Hashmi says, while vowing further counterterror collaboration

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Khalil Hashmi says besides traditional “government to government” collaboration, his country will pursue more “government to business” models to attract high-end, innovative Chinese industries. Photo: Elson Li

Published: 10:00am, 15 Sep 2024Updated: 6:33pm, 15 Sep 2024

Pakistan and China remain “strong partners” with growing economic cooperation through the Beijing-led Belt and Road Initiative, despite terrorist attacks that have cast a shadow over Chinese investment in the South Asian country, a senior Pakistani diplomat has said.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post on Wednesday, Khalil Hashmi, the Pakistani ambassador to China, vowed further collaboration with Beijing on counterterror initiatives to protect those investments.

“Pakistan and China continue to be very strong partners, friends and they [will] cooperate economically on Belt and Road Initiative related projects,” Hashmi said. “We have a lot of Chinese investments, and we are grateful for that.”

“The Pakistan and China friendship has weathered many challenges, many changes in the regional or the international environment, and it continues to be very solid-footed.”

Hashmi arrived in Hong Kong on Tuesday to attend the Belt and Road Summit, as Pakistan pursues more Chinese investments amid a slow economic recovery and troubled security situation. The summit concluded on Thursday.

Pakistan has been one of the most active players in China’s signature belt and road strategy, with multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects built in the last decade. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a key belt and road project – has seen more than US$65 billion in Chinese investment including the landmark Gwadar Port, which gave China’s western Xinjiang region access to the Arabian Sea.