Pakistan, China agree to expand, accelerate CPEC

• Beijing commits additional assistance package of 500 million yuan for flood-relief efforts
• Shehbaz, Xi agree to finalise all formalities for early launch of Karachi Circular Railway
• Kashmir, Afghanistan also feature in discussions
• PM invites Chinese corporate heads to invest in govt’s solar power project, alternative energy resources
• Xi accepts invitation to visit Islamabad soon
ISLAMABAD: China on Wednesday assured Pakis­tan of its continued support to the country’s sustainable economic and strategic projects, including expansion of the China-Pakistan Econo­mic Corridor (CPEC), Main Line-1 (ML-1) rail track besides an additional assistance package of RMB 500 million for the country’s flood-relief efforts. According to the Prime Minister Office (PMO), Chi­nese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang made these commitments during separate meetings with Prime Minister Sheh­baz Sharif at the People’s Great Hall in Beijing. The two sides signed and concluded a number of agreements covering bilateral cooperation in the areas of e-commerce, digital economy, export of agricultural products, financial cooperation, protection of cultural property, infrastructure, flood relief, post-disaster reconstruction, GDI, animal disease control, livelihood, cultural cooperation, space, geosciences as well as law enforcement and security.
With this, Prime Minister Sharif concluded his two-day maiden visit to China and returned back to the co­untry on Wednesday night.
During his meeting with President Xi, the two leaders, reaffirming their mut­ual commitment to the CPEC, agreed that as a project of strategic importance, both countries would make joint efforts to “launch ML-1 as an early harvest project under the CPEC framework”. They also acknowledged the need for a mass-transit project in Karachi, and agreed to finalize all formalities for the early launch of the Karachi Circular Railway.
Mr Sharif congratulated President Xi on his reelection as the general secretary of the Communist Party of China at its 20th Central Committee. He also thanked him for China’s invaluable assistance to Pakistan’s relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the wake of the devastation caused by super floods in the country.
Source:dawn.com