China and Pakistan renew belt and road pledges in aftermath of Balochistan attacks

China and Pakistan reaffirmed their commitment to a centrepiece of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative on Sunday, following a series of insurgent attacks in Balochistan province, where Chinese investment has stoked anger.

The commitment to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) came in a meeting in Beijing between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics.

"[Beijing] is willing to work with the Pakistani side to align development strategies, promote the in-depth development of the CPEC, ensure the smooth implementation of major projects, and expand the fields of science and technology, agriculture, social and people's livelihood," the Chinese foreign ministry quoted Xi as saying.

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National broadcaster Radio Pakistan said Khan welcomed increased Chinese investment and "lauded China's continued support and assistance to Pakistan's socioeconomic development which had greatly benefited from the high-quality development of the CPEC".

Khan and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also signed an agreement to start the second phase of the CPEC on Saturday.

Launched in 2013, the CPEC is a massive component of the Belt and Road Initiative - Xi's pet project to boost trade and infrastructure links across Asia and beyond.

It comprises a network of roads, railways, ports, power plants, oil and gas pipelines and optical fibre cables. A main feature of the project is a road from Xinjiang in China's far west to Gwadar Port in Balochistan.

But the project has been plagued by security concerns, with separatists in Balochistan waging an insurgency and accusing China of exploiting the region's natural resources at the expense of locals.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist militant group, has claimed responsibility for the most recent attacks on two military bases in the province, from Wednesday to Saturday, leaving 20 militants and nine soldiers dead, according to the Pakistani military.

In July last year, a bus blast in Pakistan killed 13 people including nine Chinese workers involved in building the Dasu hydropower plant which is part of the CPEC. Khan and Xi have referred to the incident as a "terrorist attack".

The BLA also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing targeting Chinese engineers in August.

"Terrorist attacks have become the biggest headache hindering the projects of the CPEC and the belt and road [plan] because they have scared investors," said Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang military science and technology institute in Beijing.

"Protecting Chinese workers and projects in Pakistan is always a complex problem as some intelligence suggests the BLA may have some connections with organisations in India and even some Western countries."

At the meeting on Sunday, Xi said that the strategic significance of China-Pakistan relations had become more prominent as the world entered "a period of turbulence and change".

"China and Pakistan should carry forward the tradition of mutual trust, mutual assistance and joint cooperation, and carry out more extensive and in-depth strategic cooperation," he said according to the foreign ministry. "China will firmly support Pakistan to defend its national independence, sovereignty and dignity, as well as the efforts to counter terrorism."

Pakistan has only one athlete - alpine skier Muhammad Karim - taking part in the Winter Olympics but Pakistan sent a high-level delegation to Beijing, including Khan and seven ministers overseeing areas such as foreign policy, finance, national security.

Wang Dehua, an expert on India at the Shanghai Municipal Centre for International Studies, said the trip signalled the importance of relations between the two countries.

"Khan's high-profile Beijing trip amid the cold shoulder shown by Western countries not only indicates the two countries' increasing political trust, but also their more than half-century of 'iron-brotherhood'," Wang said.

"Islamabad realises that Beijing is the friend that can really help in both economic and security needs to counter threats from India."

Last month, Pakistan officially confirmed its long-speculated purchase of 25 Chinese J-10C Firebird fighter jets, which are expected to arrive in time to take part in the March 23 Pakistan Day Parade.

The Chinese aircraft will help the Pakistan Air Force establish a squadron to counter their Indian counterpart's 36 Dassault Rafale aircraft that New Delhi bought from France.

This year's Winter Olympics became an important diplomatic stage for Beijing to test its friendships in the international community amid the diplomatic boycott initiated by the United States over human rights concerns about Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Nearly 2,900 athletes from about 100 countries are taking part in the Games but the leaders of just 20 or so countries appeared in the opening ceremony on Friday.

Aside from Khan, Xi also met leaders from Poland, Singapore and Argentina on the sidelines of the Games on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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