Beijing warns Washington against efforts to spoil Pak-China ties.

Byline: Baqir Sajjad Syed

ISLAMABAD -- The Chinese Embassy on Wednesday emphatically warned the US against meddling in Pak-China ties and the China-Pakistan Economic CorriAdor (CPEC).

This was stated in an unusually strongly-worded rejoinder to allegations levelled by US diplomat Ambassador Alice Wells in her speech at a think-tank in Islamabad.

'We would be more than glad to see the US develop its relationship with Pakistan, but we strongly oppose the US interference in China-Pakistan relations and the CPEC.... we have to make our position clear and reject the negative propaganda by the US. We must not let the truth be distorted and the lies run wild,' the embassy said in a statement.

Ambassador Wells, who was on a four-day visit to Pakistan, told a select gathering of academics and civil society representatives that CPEC projects lacked transparency and suffered from corruption.

She claimed that Chinese financing of CPEC projects through loans was adding to Pakistan's debt burden.

US told to let Pakistanis decide whether or not CPEC suits them instead of judging by itself

'The comments hold nothing new,' the embassy said and reminded that both China and Pakistan have repeatedly rejected similar insinuations in the past.

'However, the US side still ignores the facts and is obsessed with the story it made for the CPEC,' it added.

Noting that China 'puts Pakistani people's interests first' in CPEC projects, the embassy underscored that China and Pakistan staunchly adhere to 'principles of mutual consultation and cooperation' for shared benefits.

The embassy asked the US to let people of Pakistan decide whether or not CPEC suited them instead of judging by itself. It said the 32 CPEC early harvest projects completed over past five years have significantly improved local transportation infrastructure and power supply, created over 75,000 jobs directly and contributed up to two per cent of Pakistan's GDP growth in Pakistan.

'It shows that CPEC is playing an important role in boosting Pakistan's socioeconomic development and improving people's livelihood,' the embassy asserted.

The statement said that China and Pakistan deliberate on projects and jointly implement them. Chinese companies undertaking projects in Pakistan, it further said, comply with local laws and regulations, enjoy international reputation, strictly follow the market-oriented and internationally-accepted business model, and adopt state of art technology and strict environmental...