Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was in China for a prolonged six days. He landed in China for the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) Summit. Later, he attended the biggest Victory Day parade of China that was held in commemoration of the victory of China against Japanese in World War 2.
Despite, these efforts to boost bilateral relations with Beijing, Shehbaz Sharif failed to draw investment from China for the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) that is a part of China’s ambitious and flagship Belt and Road Initiative(BRI). Pakistan PM had to return to Islamabad with minimum MoUs and no big investment or ambitious projects.
As per the reports, Shehbaz Sharif landed in Beijing with a high-powered Pakistani delegation with a motive of securing new Chinese investments to Pakistan through the Business-to Business Conference. However, top sources claim that during the conference Chinese officials raised serious concerns regarding the safety and security of the Chinese workers and investors in Pakistan. The sources also asserted that Pakistan PM acknowledged these security concerns prevailing in his country and owed to improve the situation and assured the safety of the Chinese officials and workers in Pakistan.
It is said that Chinese officials also mentioned about the bureaucratic delays and hurdles prevailing in Pakistan for the smoother and faster implementation of the projects. To this, Shehbaz Sharif replied that his administration will remove all the red tape challenges and ensure for swift investment & business opportunities. As per the reports, since China launched the BRI project in Pakistan nearly 21 Chinese nationals have been killed due to suicide bombing and other targeted attacks.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) also poses a major security concern for India, as the network passes through POJK and connects China with Pakistan. India, at many occasions has clearly asserted that this is an infringement of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Though Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif was not able to gain significant large-scale investment guarantees from China, he unilaterally announced the launch of CPEC 2.0. However, Chinese side hasn’t issued any official statement in this regard.
Meanwhile, Indian Social Media was flooded with contents related to how Shehbaz Sharif was sidelined during his China visit, a testimony to Pakistan’s insignificance among global leaders. He was found clueless and sidelined during the military parade when Chinese President took centre stage along with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. Again, Shehbaz Sharif was trolled across social media, for not being able to insert the headphones accurately during a bilateral meeting with the Russian President.
