China to increase investments in Pakistan amid changing geopolitics, says report

Amid changing geopolitics, China has reportedly offered to substantially increase its investments in Pakistan following a period in which it had stopped “spending money left and right” due to corruption in both countries. The Frontier Post reported that Beijing has offered to increase the “size of its carrot” meaning investments and loans to Islamabad. The decision was made to boost the morale of Pakistan in view of the prevailing international situation. 

As per reports, the offer to increase its financial assistance, however, comes with a caveat that China expects Pakistan to take a bold stand with regard to its policies with the US. even though Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi recently said that his country will not give any new bases to the US, China was not satisfied with the statement. Now, Pakistan is weighing its options on how to deal with both China and the US, especially with respect to the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan. 

China-Pakistan relations 

It is worth noting that Pakistan highly values its relations with China despite disputes over debts and stalled building projects on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). However, the locale populace in Pakistan has been contesting such Chinese-led investment-oriented development strategies. According to ANI, concerns about debt traps, lack of transparency, aggressive diplomacy and friction due to excessive use of Chinese labour have often resulted in discord at the local level. 

Chinese projects faced resistance in Balochistan. Last month, a car bomb even exposed at a hotel in Quetta in which the Chinese ambassador was staying. In 2020, there were also protests by Pakistani labourers working on Chinese-funded projects in Karachi on the issue of unequal pay and there were even demonstrations in Muzaffarabad against the construction of dams by Chinese firms on the Neelum and Jhelum rivers. 

Image: AP