China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has led to around 80 thousand Chinese nationals working in Pakistan. Despite close ties between the two nations, these Chinese working in Pakistan are facing a backlash from the local population. There have been terror attacks, threats, fines imposed against them, yet China continues to deploy its nationals ignoring the death threats they face.
A Pakistan civil court has imposed a fine of USD 2.48 million on China National Petroleum Corporation for allegedly violating the contract signed with the Petroleum Exploration (Pvt.) Ltd, the Dawn reported. This has again brought forth the increasing economic mistrust between the two countries accentuated by the financial crisis in Pakistan. Already many projects under the CPEC, like the Main Line1 (ML-I) – railway line between Karachi and Peshawar – and the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), have been stalled and have become financial liabilities.
According to reports, Anti-China sentiments among the Pakistani population are becoming difficult to control for the local government and security agencies. Recently, Karachi Police resorted to temporarily shutting some businesses run and frequented by Chinese nationals in the city as they scrambled to prevent terrorist attacks that could compromise Islamabad’s strategic relationship with Beijing, reported Nikkei Asia.
This development came almost a month after China had “temporarily” closed the consular section of its embassy in Islamabad days after advising Chinese citizens to remain cautious due to the “deteriorating security situation” in Pakistan, according to the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan.
It appears that despite several requests and warnings from Beijing, Pakistani authorities have shown a lackadaisical attitude to safeguarding the lives of Chinese citizens living in Pakistan.
Interestingly, some reports suggest that Islamabad is indirectly pressuring Beijing to pardon its massive loan from China or extend deadlines to avoid the impending default.
Various terrorist groups operating in Pakistan continue to target Chinese nationals and projects connected to the Chinese-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
A growing number of Pakistanis suspect that China is slowly encroaching on their land under the guise of enhancing their economic situation through commercial projects, mining operations, and other financial investments.
China is reportedly upset with Pakistan authorities over law and order issues and that Chinese nationals are facing terror threats and are compelled to work without adequate security measures from Pakistan side.
China has been accused of dubious practices in Pakistan, like signing fraudulent deals with most Independent Power Producers (IPP) and receiving tax exemptions. China has repeatedly refused to renegotiate the power purchase agreements worth USD 3 billion on the pretext that its commercial banks were not in a position to revise any of the clauses of the agreement reached earlier with the Pakistan government.
A Pakistani report suggested that Chinese contractors were overcharging Islamabad by USD 3 billion on two CPEC power plants. There are also concerns that the deals were badly negotiated, too expensive or overly favoured China.
The Pakistani population has realised that the Chinese loans for dubious projects will do little for the local economy as China-funded projects are given to Chinese companies and employees with high-interest loans.
Pakistan has already fallen into the Chinese debt trap, and its economy is in a deep mess. Due to increasing reliance on China, Pakistan is facing massive debt, and dwindling cash and reserves.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has raised the expatriate Chinese population in the country, which has grown from 20,000 in 2013 to 60,000 in 2018. There would be around five million Chinese nationals working in Pakistan by 2025, The News had earlier reported.
See Also:https://indiadiplomacy.in/china-ahead-of-russia-iran-in-exploiting-afghanistans-mineral-wealth/
