Chinis "Upset" Over Pakis Unilateral Invitation To Saudi Arabia To Join CPEC !
China ‘perturbed’ on being left out of Saudi inclusion in CPEC
PT
Oct 2, 2018
ISLAMABAD: China feels ‘perturbed’ and ‘overlooked’ as Imran Khan-led government is unilaterally finalising modalities for the inclusion of one of it’s another strategic partner, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), in the multi-billion-dollar project, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
As predicted in this Forum, the Pakis took the initiative on their own, without consulting the Senior Partner - The Chinese !
Background interviews and interactions with officials linked to the CPEC have revealed that Pakistan had not even consulted the Chinese leadership over the inclusion of Saudi Arabia despite the fact that China was the principal party in the economic corridor project.
This is the latest goof of Imran's Naya Pakistan . The fiasco regarding the Pompeo phone call, the French PM kept on hold , the setback on talks with India . The diplomatic defeats keep piling on
CPEC is a bilateral agreement between Pakistan and China under which China had initially pledged to invest the US $46 billion in various energy, infrastructure and industrial projects. Later, the portfolio of CPEC was added up with the addition of five additional mass transit projects including Orange Line Metro besides Mass Transit Systems in Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta.
CPEC has been the biggest Chinese investment overseas and it has changed the overall perception of Pakistan within a year as almost all international economic monitors and international financial institutions have started to reflect Pakistan as one of the few emerging economies of the world with the potential to challenge regional and global players.
This is BS! CPEC "implementation" has led to Pakistan hitting rock bottom as far as their foreign reserves and liabilities are concerned !
However, ever since the PTI-led government took charge in August, officials linked with CPEC are reluctant to speak to media due to its sensitive nature and the change of guard.
Understandable !
Eminent CPEC expert and Pakistan, China Institute Chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed told Pakistan Today that China only came to know about the Saudi Arabia’s addition to the project through media as the PTI government did not take Beijing on board prior to making a formal offer to King Salman to join the CPEC.
Pakis were broke . So, Immy "sweet talked " the senile Salman into bailing Pakistan out by joining CPEC . And this was while Pajwa was in Beijing
“The Chinese learnt about the inclusion of Saudi Arabia from the media announcement made by the Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry,” said the PML-N leader, who is known for close association with the Chinese leadership.“While CPEC’s expansion was already on the cards, there should have been prior consultations between Islamabad and Beijing on the inclusion of Saudi Arabia,” he added.
Now the Chinis are "hoping mad" but they still show their "poker face" !
Although CPEC is all about regional connectivity, it is imperative that China is taken on board on all important decisions. Thus, given this context and the flip-flops of the regime, the parliament and Pakistan Army are now the principal stakeholders and guarantors of CPEC, according to Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed.
Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing also dropped a hint on Beijing being kept out of the loop by Pakistan on Saudi venture, telling a news agency on Sunday that China was open to the changes proposed in CPEC by Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government and “will definitely follow their agenda” to work out a roadmap for BRI projects based on “mutual consultation”.
Interesting developments. If the IMF does not bail out Pakiland, and the Saudis change their mind on the CPEC and are not interested , and the Chinese are "angry", to whom will Pakistan turn to
Fawad said this while responding to a tweet by former planning minister and PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, who asked whether Beijing had been taken on board before formally inviting Riyadh to join the mega venture.“Has China been taken into confidence? CPEC is a bilateral project in which induction of any other country has to have [the] concurrence of both sides,” Iqbal wrote.In response, Fawad said that Chinese assent had been sought and that the “expansion of CPEC is in the interest of China and Pakistan.”Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani also blamed the government of trying to “weaken the CPEC”.
Questioning if China was taken into confidence before bringing Saudi Arabia into the CPEC, he asked, “If taken in the loop, what did China say about the matter?”Rabbani said the parliament too should have been taken into confidence before inviting Saudi Arabia to become the third partner in CPEC and said that no statement was issued from the prime minister, except that Saudi Arabia had been offered to set up an oil refinery in Gwadar.Senator Mushahid Hussain believed that there have been a number of missteps by the present regime vis-a-vis China.
“The list is long though, but Imran Khan’s failing to mention CPEC in his maiden speech, statements by ministers calling for a review of CPEC projects, particularly PM’s advisor’s irresponsible remarks, then the remarks attributed to another minister regarding Xinjiang, so much so that the army chief had to go personally to Beijing to reassure President Xi Jinping about CPEC,” said Senator Mushahid Hussain.
So, the Chinese were sensing the direction of the "CPEC wind" and therefore Pajwa went to Beijing on an "reassuring" mission, while Immy was peddling CPEC to the Saudis !
Pakistan Today contacted Planning Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar to inquire whether China was consulted before making an offer to Saudi Arabia. The minister, however, did not respond to the messages sent to him.When contacted, CPEC project director in planning ministry, Hassan Dawood Butt, said that he was in a meeting with Saudi Arabian delegation. Later, however, his cell phone was switched off when Pakistan Today contacted him again.Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry also did not respond to the attempts made to contact him. Moreover, the Chinese embassy’s spokesperson also remained unavailable to comment owing to the ongoing vacations on their national day.
What this will do to the Echendee of the Saudis . Can they again trust the Pakis . They have been placed in some sort of an embarrassing position . ! And they even opened the Doors Of The Kabba- for The Kaptaan - for a Private View