[ad_1]
Pakistan reflects on a review of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Agreement (CPEC) with China, International Economic Magazine Financial Times reports Sunday, citing Islamabad's unrest over what it claims to be an unfair advantage enjoyed by Chinese-born companies.
According to FT Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was in Pakistan this weekend, said his country is ready to discuss the CPEC again. In this regard, options to extend the loan repayment period, among others, are being considered.
The well-known economist Abdul Razzaq Dawood, who also advises Prime Minister Imran Khan on trade, textiles, industrial production and investment, said all CPEC-related projects should be halted for at least a year. Agreements that offer illegal benefits to Chinese companies need to be reconsidered and renewed, he added, as Pakistani companies are at a disadvantage.
"The previous government did poorly on the CPEC negotiations with China – they did not do their homework properly and did not negotiate properly, so they gave a lot," Dawood said. FT.
"I think we should put everything on hold for a year so we can work together. Perhaps we could stretch the CPEC for another period of about five years, "he added.
However, Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Wilson Center's Asia Program, said that slowing down the CPEC would be a major shift from the government's policy led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
"The decision to slow down the #CPEC process would be a major shift from the previous government's policy," said Kugelman, South Asia-US Relations Specialist.
Several ministers and advisers, according to FT, believe that the government should review the investments conducted by the CPEC in order to renegotiate the trade agreement since it unfairly benefited Chinese companies.
"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 told the FT.
Economists and Pakistani officials agree that it was a better option to halt and disseminate CPEC projects over a longer period of time, instead of abandoning the deal, which could scare Beijing off. .
Finance Minister Asad Umar, on the other hand, said Islamabad should be careful not to insult China as an analysis of CPEC agreements over the last five years is carried out. "We do not intend to manage this process like Mahathir," Umar said in light of Malaysia's new prime minister, who warned of Bejing's "neocolonialism."
The minister noted that he was considering an option to circumvent the need to resort to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout – but that could mean new responsibilities that Pakistan would have towards China and the United States. Saudi Arabia, its longstanding partners.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, the new head of state, has set up a committee to reassess CPEC projects. Dawood, the economist, said he would "think about the CPEC – all the benefits and all the liabilities" at his first meeting, scheduled this week.
During his visit, Yi said, "The CPEC has not indebted Pakistan. Once these projects are completed and commissioned, they will generate huge economic benefits. "
