The United States has warned Pakistan of the long-term risks to its economy if it embraces China’s massive infrastructure project and suggested that it should instead look to the U.S. business model.
Alice Wells, the acting assistant secretary of state for South Asia, told a conference on November 21 that the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will only profit Beijing.
The United States and many EU countries have criticized China's project and its lending for regional infrastructure efforts, warning that it has saddled some developing countries with debts that they cannot afford to repay.
The CPEC project consists of rail, road, and energy infrastructure and is part of the wider $1 trillion Chinese project known as the "Belt and Road" initiative.
"It's clear, or it needs to be clear, that CPEC is not about aid," Wells said at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.
She warned that the initiative was driven by nonconcessionary loans, with Chinese companies sending their own labor and material.
"CPEC relies primarily on Chinese workers and supplies, even amid rising unemployment in Pakistan," she added.
The corridor "is going to take a growing toll on the Pakistan economy, especially when the bulk of payments start to come due in the next four to six years," she said.
"Even if loan payments are deferred, they are going to continue to hang over Pakistan's economic development potential, hamstringing Prime Minister [Imran] Khan's reform agenda," she said.
China's planned efforts in Pakistan include the development of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea into a world-class port. Saudi Arabia earlier this year said it plans to set up a $10 billion oil refinery in Gwadar, located in the southwestern province of Balochistan.
Wells acknowledged that the United States could not come to Pakistan with offers from state-run companies, as can China, but she said private American investment, along with U.S. grants, would help Pakistan's economic fundamentals.
"There is a different model. Worldwide we see that U.S. companies bring more than just capital; they bring values, processes, and expertise that build the capacities of local economies."
With reporting by AFP
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
Editor's Picks
Afghanistan/Pakistan Trending
1
What's Behind The Deadly Surge Of Violence In Pakistan's Balochistan?
2Russia Inches Toward Marriage Of Convenience With Taliban In Terror Fight
3Facebook Restrictions The 'Last Nail In The Coffin' For Free Speech In Afghanistan
4'One-Party Rule': Taliban Wages Crackdown On Political Parties
5Iran's Afghan Community Worried About Prospect Of War With Israel
6This Is What It's Like To Be A Journalist Under Taliban Rule
7Afghanistan's Only Female Diplomat Resigns In India After Gold-Smuggling Allegations
87 Killed In Attack On Afghan Mosque
9Flash Flooding Kills At Least 33 People In Kabul, Other Afghan Regions
10Taliban Pulls 2 TV Channels For 'Violating Islamic Values'
Subscribe