‘Will help Pak in financial crisis’

BEIJING: China on Saturday assured Pakistan of its full support to “tide over” the financial crisis, clearly signalling Beijing’s readiness to give fresh loans to its allweather ally which is in deep economic distress.

During the on-going China visit by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, Beijing also told Islamabad to “push forward” the ChinaPakistan Economic Corri- dor (CPEC), the heart of the Chinese Belt and Road project the feasibility of which Pakistan has begun to doubt over debt concerns.

India is opposed to the $60 billion CPEC whose planned route is through the disputed Kashmir held by Pakistan.

“The Chinese government will provide necessary support and assistance to Pakistan in tiding over the current economic difficulties,” China’s Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou said.

The minister gave no specific information about China’s financial assistance, saying the details were being discussed. He was talking to reporters after Khan and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang held talks at the Great Hall and supervised the signing of 16 bilateral deals. Khan, who met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, is understood to have sought financial help for Pakistan which is in dire straits due to the ballooning foreign debt.

“The relationship between the two countries has deepened since then because the CPEC in 2013 was just an idea. Now it is on the ground. And it has caught the imagination of the people of Pakistan,” Khan said while meeting Li.