BEIJING: China stands ready to work with Pakistan to promote the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) so that it will drive growth and benefit people’s livelihood and play a bigger role in promoting regional connectivity and economic integration, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

“The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a pilot project of the Belt and Road Initiative. China stands ready to work with Pakistan to promote the high-quality development of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a written reply in response to a comment made by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi about the BRI and CPEC.

Addressing the Margalla Dialogue 2021 organized by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, an Islamabad-based think tank recently, Qureshi said that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will bring prosperity for people across the world through generating global integration.

The BRI, with the CPEC as a flagship project, utilises the economic geography and enhances the connectivity of Asia, Europe and Africa, he added.

The spokesperson said that as Foreign Minister Qureshi pointed out, the Belt and Road cooperation has removed infrastructure bottlenecks facing many regions along the route.

“It promotes connectivity, and makes important contribution to global trade facilitation and economic growth,” he added.

Wang Wenbin said that the CPEC is a pilot project of the Belt and Road Initiative China stands ready to work with Pakistan to promote the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) so that it will drive growth and benefit people’s livelihood, and play a bigger role in promoting regional connectivity and economic integration, he added.

In his speech, Foreign Minister Qureshi highlighting Pakistan’s strategic pivot from geopolitics to geo-economics, the foreign minister said a country like Pakistan situated on the crossroads of South, Central and West Asia will remain accessible to all and reach out to all.