News Story: China says air force drills with Pakistan "routine"

URUMQI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese air force on Thursday dismissed concerns over its ongoing training exercises with the Pakistani air force, saying they were routine drills.

"There's no need for some countries to overact and make a great fuss about it. They need to learn to get used to such drills," said Shen Jinke, spokesperson for the People's Liberation Army Air Force.

It is international practice to hold military exercises, and simulated combat training with foreign armies are necessary for troops of every country to improve their capabilities to safeguard state security and national interests, he said.

The ongoing joint drills named "Shaheen VI" were launched in China on Sept. 7 and will run until Sept. 27.

Read the full story at Xinhua

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PacificSentinel: Maybe China should remember that when their bitching at the US and South Korea about their Military Exercises.

News Report: Silk Ties - Will Chinese Military Aid Replace US Support for Pakistan?

After Washington's decision to suspend its 225-million-dollar military aid to Pakistan, Islamabad may turn to China in a bid to resolve the issue, Natalaya Zamarayeva of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences told Sputnik.

Commenting on the US State Department's decision to suspend military aid to Pakistan, a Russian expert told Sputnik in an interview that she didn't rule out the possibility that Pakistan would turn to China in a bid to resolve the issue.

"No doubt, Pakistan will try to develop its military and technical cooperation with China, an issue that will certainly top the agenda of the Beijing talks. As for whether China will be able to replace the US in terms of giving military aid to Pakistan, it is a question [which can be answered] in the future," Natalya Zamarayeva said.

She referred to Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif's current visit to China which she said comes after US President Donald Trump accused Islamabad of supporting terrorists.

She pointed to the ongoing power struggle in Pakistan, saying that the transition period is likely to last until the parliamentary elections in the country, which are slated for in 2018.

News Story: China, Pakistan agree to strengthen security cooperation

BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- China and Pakistan agreed to strengthen anti-terrorism and security cooperation along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The agreement was reached when Meng Jianzhu, head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and Pakistani National Security Adviser Nasser Khan Janjua Friday in Beijing.

Hailing Pakistan's efforts in counter-terrorism, Meng called for strengthened anti-terrorism and security cooperation in the building of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

"China and Pakistan, as good friends, friendly neighbors and all-weather strategic cooperative partners, have always firmly supported each other's core interests," Meng said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Cause of Friction - Why Pakistan Has Chosen China Over the US

The cooperation between the US and Pakistan has recently been put to the test as Donald Trump accused Islamabad of supporting terrorists. In response, the Pakistani authorities canceled a planned visit by a representative of the State Department. Sputnik attempts to identify the real reason behind the fall out between the two long-term allies?

On August 21, during a speech at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia, US President Donald Trump announced Washington's readiness to change its approach to relations with Islamabad if the Pakistani side continues to support terrorists.

“The next pillar of our new strategy is to change the approach in how to deal with Pakistan. We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe-havens for terrorist organizations,” Trump said.

Such a direct accusation of sponsoring terrorism provoked Islamabad's response, and the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said that the criticism from US President Donald Trump is disappointing.

News Report: China Affirms Alliance with Pakistan After Trump Says Islamabad Abets Terrorists

China’s top diplomat told his American counterpart that the United States must respect Pakistani sovereignty and security concerns as they pertain to Afghanistan or else endanger “peace and stability,” reports Chinese state media.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had a phone conversation on Wednesday with Yang Jiechi, China's state councilor of overseas foreign affairs. Yang, who outranks the Chinese foreign minister, defended Pakistan after US President Donald Trump claimed that it "often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence and terror" during a Monday speech.

Trump called Pakistan a "valued partner" whose "contributions and sacrifices" against terrorism were to be commended. However, Trump went on to say, "Pakistan has also sheltered the same organizations that try every single day to kill our people. We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars, at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting."

China came to its ally's defense during the Tillerson/Yang call. "We must value Pakistan's important role on the Afghanistan issue, and respect Pakistan's sovereignty and reasonable security concerns," Yang reportedly said.

News Story: Pakistan to firmly support China on core interests - foreign secretary

BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan firmly supports China on issues concerning its core interests, Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua said when meeting with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi in Beijing Monday.

During their meeting, Yang said it is especially important for China and Pakistan to enhance strategic communication under current global and regional circumstances.

He called on both sides to maintain close high-level contacts, promote the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor under the Belt and Road Initiative, forge ahead cooperation in different areas and intensify coordination in multi-lateral organizations such as the United Nations and Shanghai Cooperation Organization, according to a press release issued after the meeting.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: For Pakistanis, China 'friendship' road runs one way

By Ben Dooley

The China-Pakistan Friendship Highway runs over 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) from the far western Chinese city of Kashgar through the world's highest mountain pass and across the border.

For China, the two-lane thoroughfare symbolises a blossoming partnership, nourished with tens of billions of dollars of infrastructure investment.

But for many Pakistani businessmen living and working on the Chinese side of the border, the road is a one way street.

"China says our friendship is as high as the Himalayas and as deep as the sea, but it has no heart," said Pakistani businessman Murad Shah, as he tended his shop in Tashkurgan, 120 kilometres from the mountain pass where trucks line up to cross between China's vast Xinjiang region and Pakistan.

"There is no benefit for Pakistan. It's all about expanding China's growth," Shah said, as he straightened a display of precious stones.

The remote town of around 9,000 is at the geographic heart of Beijing's plans to build a major trade artery -- the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) -- connecting Kashgar to the Arabian Sea port of Gwadar.

The project is a crown jewel of China's One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, a massive global infrastructure programme to revive the ancient Silk Road and connect Chinese companies to new markets around the world.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: Pakistan Defiant as US Ponders South Asia Strategy

Natalie Liu

Days after the Pentagon announced it is withholding $50 million intended for Pakistan as part of its Coalition Support Fund, the South Asian country's ambassador hinted at potential retaliation, possibly coaxing Washington to negotiate access to the country's air corridors, which Islamabad suggests have been taken for granted.

Pakistan is ready to cooperate with the United States, Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said, though Washington may now end up having to negotiate with Islamabad on the corridors and other tangible assets, he added.

"All that Pakistan has done in the fight against terrorism has not been sufficiently factored" into the U.S. decision to reduce its support funds, Chaudhry lamented during a discussion this week at the Washington office of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

News Story: Pakistan PM hails Pak-China strategic ties

ISLAMABAD, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed satisfaction over the status of all-weather strategic partnership with China, the launch of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Pakistan's membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Speaking at the foreign ministry, the prime minister appreciated China's role for improving Pak-Afghan relations, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Friday.

Sharif visited the ministry the day to undertake a comprehensive review of Pakistan's foreign policy priorities in the wake of the recent developments in and around Pakistan and the emerging global and regional scenarios.

"The Prime Minister appreciated China's role for improving Pak-Afghan relations and also recalled his recent meeting with President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of SCO Summit and their agreement to evolve a bilateral and quadrilateral mechanism for controlling cross-border terrorism," the statement said.

He directed the ministry to prepare initiatives on Afghanistan and also on building economic and trade linkages to promote Pakistan's development.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Beijing Downplays Possibility of Pakistani Naval Base

Chinese officials have dismissed predictions that the People’s Liberation Army Navy will build a new base in Pakistan as Saudi Arabian and American influence in the region deteriorates.

Discussions about a Chinese base in Pakistan are "pure guesswork," Defense Ministry Spokesman Wu Qian said on Thursday.

Sputnik has reported that Pakistan is actively seeking an increased Chinese presence in Pakistan to balance the strength of India. "We need an equalizer against India. Previously it was the US and Saudi Arabia. Now it’s China," a Pakistani diplomat told NBC, according to a June 19 report.

In May, the US Defense Department issued a report stating, "China most likely will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan."

News Story: Pakistan deploys 15,000-strong force for Chinese security

Pakistan has deployed a 15,000-strong military force to protect Chinese nationals working on energy and infrastructure projects in the country, the president said Sunday, after the abduction of a Chinese couple raised safety concerns.

President Mamnoon Hussain told visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Islamabad that the protection of Chinese citizens working in Pakistan was the "top priority" of the government, according to a statement issued by the presidency.

Beijing is investing around $50 billion in its South Asian neighbour as part of a plan unveiled in 2015 to link its far-western Xinjiang region to Gwadar port in Balochistan with a series of infrastructure, power and transport upgrades.

But fears over safety arose last month when two Chinese workers were abducted in Quetta, the capital of the southwestern Balochistan province, which is at the heart of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project but racked by separatist and Islamist insurgencies.

Read the full story at SpaceWar

News Story: China calls on Pakistan, Afghanistan to improve ties

ISLAMABAD, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday that tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan are not conducive to their stability and development as well as regional cooperation, calling on both countries to meet each other halfway so as to improve bilateral ties.

Wang made the call during his meeting with Pakistani top foreign affairs advisor Sartaj Aziz. He said that Pakistan and Afghanistan should send the international community a positive signal that the two sides are willing to restore mutual trust and conduct cooperation through bilateral channels.

Wang also said that China supports the two sides in seeking to establish a crisis managing mechanism as quickly as possible so as to properly deal with contingencies and to form a trilateral meeting system among foreign ministers of China, Afghanistan and Pakistan in order to enhance dialogue and cooperation in all areas.

For his part, Aziz said that Pakistan is willing to intensify communication and improve relations with the Afghan side and to support the political reconciliation process in Afghanistan as these are in line with both countries' common interests.

The advisor said that the Pakistani side has made political and diplomatic efforts on the issue and is willing to activate relevant dialogue mechanisms and channels, adding that it requires the two sides to meet each other halfway.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: China, Pakistan vow to jointly fight terrorism

BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- China and Pakistan on Friday agreed to improve security and anti-terrorism cooperation, to guarantee the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The agreement came out of a meeting between Meng Jianzhu, head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Pakistan's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Zubair Mahmood Hayat.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: China lauds Pakistan's support in fighting terrorism

BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng met with Pakistan's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Zubair Mahmood Hayat in Beijing Thursday.

Hailing the traditional all-weather friendship between China and Pakistan, Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said China appreciates the Pakistani government and military's firm support for China in fighting terrorism.

He called on both sides to enhance military-to-military cooperation so as to safeguard the security of both countries as well as regional peace and stability.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Chinese naval fleet visits Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan, June 10 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese navy fleet comprising three warships arrived at Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Saturday for a four-day goodwill and training visit.

Speaking at the welcoming ceremony hosted by the Pakistani side, Commander of the Chinese navy fleet Rear Admiral Shen Hao said the visit will further promote the understanding and mutual trust between the two peoples, and boost the cooperation and friendship between the two countries.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Pakistan Faces Challenges to Curb Militancy to Protect Chinese Investment

Madeeha Anwar

WASHINGTON — Pakistan views a project to expand its port in Gwadar and link it to China as a way to provide jobs and an economic boost to Balochistan, the country’s poorest province.

To get it built and functioning, though, the government needs to undercut a separatist insurgency and a variety of militant groups that have used poverty to fuel the flames of insurgency.

“If Pakistan is not able to control extremism in Balochistan, how could the government achieve the desired results it is currently portraying?” asked Hasan Askari, a prominent security and military analyst.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a joint venture between the two countries that already is well underway. It will connect northwestern China’s Xinjiang region to Gwadar’s deep-water port in southwest Pakistan via a network of roads, railway, communications and energy projects.

China gets a shorter trade route to the Persian Gulf; Pakistan gets a second major port.

Pakistan’s Federal Minister of Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal says CPEC is expected to be completed by 2030 with an initial investment of nearly $50 billion.

News Story: Pakistan Gives China a 40-Year Lease for Gwadar Port

On April 20, Pakistan’s minister for ports and shipping announced that his ministry has given a Chinese firm a forty-year lease for the strategic Port of Gwadar. 

The lessee, state-owned China Overseas Port Holding Company, has been building out the port’s infrastructure since 2013. Under its new long-term contract, it will retain over 90 percent of revenue from Gwadar’s marine operations, plus 85 percent of the revenue from the management of an adjacent free zone. It will also benefit from the deep tax exemptions that Pakistan has granted to Chinese companies for projects related to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a network of transportation infrastructure stretching from the Arabian Sea to the Chinese border. 

“We hope to create a new economic development model for the port by transplanting China’s experience in building special zones or economic development areas to Pakistan, in a bid to drive the country’s industrial transformation,” said COPHC CEO Zhang Baozhong, in comments to China Daily. 

Read the full story at MarEx

News Story: China, Pakistan vow to enhance all-weather partnership

ISLAMABAD, April 5 (Xinhua) -- China and Pakistan on Wednesday agreed to further promote their all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.

The pledge was made during a meeting here between Chinese top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng and Pakistani Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani.

Yu, who is chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said China and Pakistan are good neighbors, good partners, good friends and good brothers.

He said that since Chinese President Xi Jinping made a state visit to Pakistan in 2015, China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership has maintained strong momentum of development.

He highlighted the frequent high-level exchanges, enhanced practical cooperation, and close coordination and collaboration on major issues between the two countries.

The Chinese top political advisor called on the two countries to work together to push ahead with the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and to implement the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Port co-built with China fuels Pakistan's economic engine

by Liu Tian

ISLAMABAD, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Gwadar, an poorly-known port town previously in Pakistan has been becoming a new economic engine for the country with the construction of a free zone co-built with China.

"We have finished 60 percent of the first-phase construction for the port's free zone, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year, one year earlier than we planned," Hu Yaozong, deputy general manager of the Gwadar Free Zone Company, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Chinese engineers and their Pakistani counterparts are working around clock in the construction site with the hope of seeing the free zone is open to operation as early as possible.

The free zone is a key step towards developing the Gwadar port into an important regional hub that will benefit not only south Asia, but also the countries in central Asia and the Middle East.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: China-Pakistan Parade - Is Beijing Sealing Role of Top Player in Asia-Pacific?

Chinese troops took part in the Pakistan Day parade in Islamabad for the first time earlier this week, in what some experts said was a sign of closer bilateral ties, while others pointed to Beijing's growing regional clout.

In an unprecedented event on Thursday, 90 Chinese army servicemen took part in the Pakistan Day parade in Islamabad, during which Pakistan showed off its long-range missiles, tanks and warplanes.

In an interview with Sputnik, Chinese military expert Song Xiaojun described similar military parades as "a barometer of the state of bilateral relations."

"These are normal exchanges between the armies of China and Pakistan. In practice, Beijing and Islamabad are strategic partners, and we can even say that they have excellent relations of strategic partnership. At the same time, both states are not military allies and they develop normal military contacts, including joint drills," Xiaojun said.