Senior US Official Explains How CPEC Could Economically Hurt Pakistan

The Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Alice Wells has warned Pakistan of the daunting effect of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), urging Pakistan to shift to the US business model instead.

Wells said this while addressing a conference at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington on Thursday, adding that the mega infrastructure project has been designed to benefit only China and it will take a toll on Pakistan’s economy which will hamper Imran Khan’s reforms agenda.

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She further said that with the bulk of payments due in the next 4-6 years and that the corridor is not about aid.

Even if loan payments are deferred, they are going to continue to hang over Pakistan’s economic development potential, hamstringing Prime Minister [Imran] Khan’s reform agenda.

Part of the wider $1 trillion ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, the CPEC is driven by non-concessionary loans and relies heavily on Chinese materials and labor despite alarming levels of unemployment in Pakistan.

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Wells told the audience that the US investment via private firms and grants can uplift Pakistan’s economy.

There is a different model. Worldwide we see that U.S. companies bring more than just capital; they bring values, processes, and expertise that build the capacities of local economies.

Via RFERL