Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif to take CPEC forward with new vigour: PML-N leader

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will take USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) forward with new vigour, vitality and in a rejuvenated manner, ensuring multifaceted development of the flagship project of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a top leader of the ruling PML-N has said.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, a leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), made the remarks on Sunday while discussing the future of the Pakistan-China relations and future cross border collaboration in China's CGTN programme The Hub' with Wang Guan.

"In the first day in office as Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif met the Chinese Acting Ambassador and told her that Pakistan considers China as Pakistan's closest friend and strongest partner and we will take the CPEC forward with new vigour, with new vitality and in a rejuvenated manner," he was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune newspaper.

Mushahid said that China has a very old and long standing relationship with Shehbaz Sharif. 

When the BRI was launched, the CPEC was its centrepiece, and that was taken forward by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shehbaz Sharif was then the chief minister of Punjab.

Mushahid said that under the new government, there would be a broad based acceleration in the Pakistan-China relations in all domains.

"China is number one, in terms of a foreign policy priority, which the prime minister made clear when he listed the list of countries and his formulation has been very warmly welcomed in China. So, we have no doubt," he added.

Mushahid said that China is the only country for which there is across-the-board national consensus, and the entire political leadership considers it to be Pakistan's number one friend.

"So, China friendship is the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy, and I see this relationship being further developed and taken to new heights of development, he added.

In response to a question about continued momentum in the CPEC projects, he said that the first phase of the CPEC was completed when Nawaz Sharif was in power.

"The second phase is bigger. And you will see perhaps acceleration in the field of agriculture, in the field of Information Technology, in the field of tourism, and also infrastructure, especially the railway project, he added.

He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had already announced during his visit to Karachi that his government would expand the CPEC. So, there would be multifaceted development of the CPEC.

Mushahid said that the CPEC framework also united the federation of Pakistan through infrastructure and energy projects and it had resolved a lot of problems. "So, we feel CPEC is the character of a better tomorrow for the people of Pakistan, Mushahid was quoted as saying by the paper. 

The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of China's ambitious multi-billion-dollar BRI.

The BRI is a multi-billion-dollar initiative launched by President Xi Jinping when he came to power in 2013. It aims to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.