CPEC's extension to Afghanistan not directed against India: China
China on Wednesday said that its ambitious ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor is not directed against India and the project should not be influenced or disturbed by any third country, a day after Beijing offered to extend the $ 50 billion project to Afghanistan. At the first trilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan here on Tuesday, China offered to extend CPEC to Afghanistan as the three sides pledged to stepup counter terrorism cooperation and not to allow any country, group or individual to use their soils for terrorism. Besides Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, his counterparts from Pakistan and Afghanistan Khawaja Asif and Salahuddin Rabbani respectively attended the meeting.
When asked about reports that China's plans to extend the CPEC to Afghanistan sparked concerns in India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the project extension is not directed at any third country. She said the project serves the common interests of the three counties. "This cooperation is not directed at any country and any party. The dialogue and
cooperation should not be influenced or disturbed by any country," she said.
Though Hua did not directly name India, she was responding to a question on reports about India's concerns about CPEC, which passes through Pakistanoccupied Kashmir. “We stressed many times, CPEC is not directed at any third party and we hope it can bring benefits for third country," Hua said, referring to India's concerns.
The CPEC, a flagship project of China's prestigious One Belt One Road, links its restive Xinjiang region with Pakistan's Balochistan province. "It is an economic cooperation programme and it should not be politicised and has nothing to do with territorial dispute," she said, adding that the project will bring the benefit to the third party and the whole region.