Pakistani officials confident about overcoming impact of COVID-19 through on cooperation

By Wang Bozun and Chu Daye Source:Global Times Published: 2020/2/21 0:02:56

Pakistani Ambassador to China Naghmana Alamgir Hashmi

The outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) in China has had a minor impact overall on the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), officials said. 

Some projects of CPEC have felt no impact, although the epidemic did cause some hurdles for trade between the two all-weather strategic partners. But officials are optimistic about the outlook, the Global Times learned.

A manager at China Overseas Port Holding, which is building the Gwadar Port, a major project under the CPEC, told the Global Times that workers from parts of China other than Hubei Province, which is the epicenter of the outbreak,  have returned on time.

"The materials, equipment and transportation needed to complete the project at the port and chartered container shipping services are all not affected by the epidemic," he said.

However, in the state of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), which is also known as Pakistani-administrated Kashmir, progress on "three out of four" projects under the CPEC has slowed down, the UrduPoint Network reported Tuesday, citing the president of the region Sardar Masood Khan.

But the president expressed optimism about the implementation pace, saying "Joint efforts are being made by the governments of AJK and Pakistan to put things back on track and pick up the pace."

In an exclusive interview with the Global Times on Thursday, Pakistani Ambassador to China Naghmana Alamgir Hashmi said, "I am still confident that CPEC will march forward and continue to make substantive progress according to the agreed timelines."

"The gradual resumption of work at enterprises in China is only marginally slower than it would be in any case after the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday. This means most urgently required production had been completed and shipped well before the holiday," the ambassador said.

"Projects under CPEC are large in scale and long-term. As has been repeatedly pointed out, the epidemic outbreak is a short-term ripple that will pass in quick order. We have every confidence in our mutual ability to make up for lost time."

As of Thursday, more than 2,000 people had been killed - most of them are from China - by the deadly COVID-19, and to better prevent the spread of the virus, many countries have introduced strict measures on trade or personnel movements with China.

Pakistan was not among those countries that banned people from China as the WHO has voiced that it is not necessary to do so, and the ambassador believes that "entry or travel restrictions are not a part of the solution" to curb the spread of the virus. Instead, Pakistan has strengthened disinfection in ports.

Beside the CPEC projects, the trade between the two countries hasn't had the same luck as Pakistani customs has decided to fumigate every container from China, which has lengthened the clearance procedure and caused losses for local traders.

Due to the delays, traders are paying additional container charges as their clearance is being delayed due to the "time-taking fumigation process," the Express Tribune reported, citing Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry former president Daroo Khan.

"While we have to wait for the actual numbers to emerge, I'd like to point out that there has been no suspension of trade flows and transportation linkages between Pakistan and China," Hashmi said.

Despite those negative impacts, the ambassador voiced confidence, saying: "Even if there were a near-term drop due to the epidemic, the repressed demand would be released subsequently and supply would step up to fill the gap."

Posted in: ECONOMY

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