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Does the PTI government really want to protect and continue the CPEC?
ISLAMABAD: Two recent and similar titles in foreign media, both citing Pakistan's leading personalities Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), have highlighted the fears of the ruling party in favor of the Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a crucial project for the country.
On August 19, the Indian newspaper Zee News titled "the CPEC in trouble? The new government of Imran Khan is preparing to put pressure on China. And on September 9, the British Financial Times (FT) published an article entitled "Pakistan rethinks its role in Xi's Belt and Road Plan." In the first article, Syed Shibli Faraz, the leader of the PTI leader appointed to the Senate, said the CPEC projects would be re-evaluated in the national interest, but the report was generally unnoticed.
The article quoted Prime Minister Abdul Razzak Dawood as advising the Prime Minister on trade, criticizing the terms of the CPEC agreement signed in 2015. It sparked controversy, resulting in an immediate but unconvincing rebuttal.
A comparison of the two statements strongly suggests that the ITP-led government is not fully invested in the CPEC, despite assurances given to the Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi over the weekend and parallel discussions on the next phase of the showcase $ 62 billion development program.
The Indian media's interpretation of Shibli's statement a few weeks ago is no different from the way the FT quoted Dawood on Monday.
Zee News reported: "The Pakistani friend" all time "seems to be the last country to promise to review the project agreements of the Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). . A prominent member of Imran Khan's party, the ITP, said the new government would rule which projects are not in Pakistan's interest.
"After the formation of the government, we will review the agreement on the projects and decide on those who are not in the country's interest," said PTI Senator Syed Shibli Faraz.
Zee News noted: "Faraz's statements on the subject have weight since he is a member of the new Pakistan Standing Senate Committee on Planning, Development and Reform."
The Indian chain said that if the PTI followed up on this statement, it would mark a radical change from the CPEC's representation as a bed of roses by the previous Pakistani League government, the Nawaz government – with the Midas touch. "The PML-N government has not shared the details of the CPEC agreements they signed with China, with the parliament and relevant stakeholders," Faraz was quoted as saying.
According to the Indian television channel, Imran Khan, since he became prime minister of Pakistan, has made noise on relations between Islamabad and Beijing and the CPEC. "But he seems to use his party to pressure Beijing so that it offers better conditions to a Pakistan that is facing an economic crisis," the ZeeNews report added.
Shibli told the Saudi Arab News newspaper: "The PML-N government has not shared the details of the CPEC agreements they signed with China, with parliament and relevant stakeholders.
"After the formation of the government, we will review project agreements and decide on those that are not in the country's interest. We will honor the agreement, but will ask friendly countries to continue to improve to create a win-win situation, "he swore.
Similarly, according to FT's report, "Pakistan is considering revising or renegotiating the BIS agreements in China, joining a growing list of countries questioning the terms of their involvement in the investment plan. infrastructures".
"Pakistani ministers and advisers say the country's new government will review BIS investments and renegotiate a trade deal signed more than a decade ago, which it says unfairly benefits Chinese companies. The projects involved are part of the CPEC's $ 62 billion plan – by far the largest and most ambitious part of the BIS, which aims to connect Asia and Europe along the way. Old silk road, "the statement added.
The FT then quoted Dawood as saying, "The previous government did not work well with China on the CPEC – they did not do their homework properly and did not negotiate properly, so they gave a lot."
He was also quoted as saying: "Chinese companies have benefited from tax breaks, many breaks and an unfair advantage in Pakistan; That's one of the things we're looking at because it's not fair that Pakistani companies are at a disadvantage, "he said.
Referring to the creation by the Prime Minister of a nine-member committee to evaluate CPEC projects, Dawood said it was scheduled to meet for the first time this week.
He then said, "I think we should put everything on hold for a year so that we can work together … Maybe we can extend the CPEC for about five years."
Dawood's comments on the FT sparked controversy in Pakistan, prompting him to issue a vague rebuttal, saying the FT article was based on statements taken out of context. "Pakistan rejects the article, especially its title," said the rebuttal.
Nevertheless, PTI has already stated that it will make public all major international trade agreements, whether they concern CPEC or liquefied natural gas imports from Qatar. The party is skeptical about these two big contracts, because it suspects that its sworn enemy, the Sharifs, has made billions of rupees in commissions and bribes through megaprojects, including the Orange Train project. the government may have pulled the hip again. A senior associate at CPEC was concerned that the immature approach of the firm and key members of the ITP to this vital project would seriously undermine the national interest.
Earlier, the Prime Minister's trade advisor, Abdul Razak Dawood, who was president of Descon (Design Engineering Services and Construction), had serious problems with the CPEC before his induction into the cabinet.
In an interview with Dawn earlier this year, Dawood complained: "Pakistani companies have been denied contracts for electricity and other projects; equipment and raw materials for projects (CPEC) are imported (from China); Workers (technicians, managers, engineers, etc.) also come from China. (In other words) (Chinese) companies are not forced to involve Pakistani entrepreneurs and use local materials and labor to take the lion's share of infrastructure projects. "
He added: "Descon, a billion-dollar company with 40 years of experience in the maintenance and implementation of flagship projects in the oil, chemical, and electrical sectors, and the contracts of five power plants of the CPEC, but failed to win a single contract because all Chinese companies did the same. Electricity projects include two coal-fired power plants in Sahiwal and Port Qasim and three gas plants in Bhikki and Haveli Bahadur Shah. "
"We did not even have a single job because we were expensive. They (Chinese companies) were cheaper because they enjoyed some tax benefits that were not offered to us (Pakistani bidders), "said Dawood, adding," If you know at the beginning that you get some advantages, offers you) according to the benefits (to underestimate your competition). They are not level playing field … they have a lot more advantages than us.
Dawood also told the newspaper, "We are now entering the second phase of the CPEC initiative: Special Economic Zones (SEZs). (If we want to benefit from investments in these areas), we should make sure that the benefits offered in these industrial areas are accessible to all. "
"(In addition, these benefits) should be designed so that they do not disadvantage the SEZ industries. Existing industries in the Landhi or SITE area (in Karachi) or Faisalabad should not suffer (because of the creation of SEZs as part of the CPEC cooperation), "he warned.
Answering a question, Mr Dawood stressed the need for Pakistan to design and implement a trade policy defining an export-led growth strategy that limits imports.
"Pakistan will never be a big economy and our exports and our manufacturing industry will continue to stagnate unless we focus on export-led growth and pursue our extremely liberal import policy. No country can achieve economic progress if it relies only on the internal market. "
He also felt that companies should expand into the export market. "You have to get into exporting (because) it's the only way for a company to grow. Some trading houses have developed abroad. But most of them focus on the domestic market. One of the reasons why our companies do not engage in export markets is that they are not competitive in international markets and yet they are so profitable in Pakistan. So, why grow overseas (if you can make money here)?
"Our point of view at Descon is that you have to go out. We moved to the Gulf States when we were a small business. I believe that Pakistani companies should work abroad. This is the only way to increase our exports and become efficient and internationally competitive. We gain by interacting with the outside world. "
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