2024-03-05 11:10:50
Islamabad: Both Pakistan and China claim to be Iron Brothers but now their friendship is in danger. Poor Pakistan has now become a problem for China. Chinese power companies have invested billions of dollars in Pakistan but now their money is not being returned. When the Pakistani government did not return the money even after several warnings from the Chinese government, many Chinese companies left Islamabad. This amount is said to be around 493 billion Pakistani rupees. The government of Pakistan itself has admitted that Chinese companies in the power sector have withdrawn $170 million from their investments in January 2024. This has become a matter of biggest concern for Pakistan.
Under the CPEC project in Pakistan, China has invested about 62 billion dollars and is increasing it further. Pakistani journalist Kamran Yusuf says that while China is spending a lot of money in Pakistan, the money which was supposed to be returned to Pakistan has not been returned. Pakistan now owes about 493 billion Pakistani rupees of debt to Chinese power companies. Chinese power companies had set up factories in Pakistan and later the Islamabad government had to return the money. Pakistan is not able to recover the electricity bill from its people. He said that there was an agreement between China and Pakistan that the Pakistan government would return the money which is not being received from the public to China, but this could not happen.
China’s President had scolded Pakistan
Chinese President Xi Jinping himself had strongly raised this issue with the Pakistani government but no action was taken on it. After this, Chinese power companies thought it best to leave Pakistan. Kamran said that now a new government has come in Pakistan and it will be most important to convince China. It will be very difficult for the Shahbaz government to take tough decisions. According to a report by America’s Mary University Ad Data, China’s total debt to Pakistan was $67 billion between 2000 and 2021. This is 21 billion more than the previously mentioned figure.
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China has invested the most in Pakistan’s energy sector. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project has been running between Pakistan and China for the last 10 years. This project has helped Pakistan in developing the necessary infrastructure. Experts believe that the project’s impact on Pakistan’s economy has been limited due to inadequate credit and mismanagement. CPEC, considered the largest partnership under China’s BRI plan, was launched in 2013 with an investment of more than $45 billion. Total investment has increased to more than $62 billion. China showed confidence in Pakistan during times of terrorism and turmoil and added 8,000 MW of electricity to the national grid but the same Pakistan is now not repaying the loan.