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China Rejects India’s Remarks on CPEC, Reaffirms Support for Pakistan

By The South Asia Times

Beijing — China on Monday firmly rejected India’s criticism of infrastructure projects linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and vowed to continue standing with Pakistan, saying the development initiative is aimed at economic growth and improving people’s lives.

At a regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to comments by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, which said New Delhi does not recognize CPEC and claimed that the Shaksgam Valley is Indian territory.

India also said it reserves the right to take “necessary measures” to protect what it calls its interests and described the 1963 China-Pakistan boundary agreement as “illegal and invalid.”

Mao rejected those claims, saying the territory mentioned by India “belongs to China” and that it is “fully justified for China to conduct infrastructure construction on its own territory.” She said China and Pakistan, as two sovereign states, signed a boundary agreement in the 1960s that clearly defined their border.

“The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as an economic cooperation initiative, aims at promoting local socioeconomic development and improving people’s livelihood,” Mao said. She added that both the boundary agreement and CPEC do not change China’s long-standing position on the Kashmir issue.

CPEC is a flagship project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative and involves investments of more than $64 billion in energy, transport, ports, and industrial zones across Pakistan. The project is seen by Islamabad and Beijing as central to regional connectivity and economic development.

Pakistani officials and analysts have repeatedly accused India of trying to sabotage CPEC by supporting militancy and terrorism in Balochistan and other parts of Pakistan, where several Chinese-linked projects are located.

China has consistently maintained that CPEC is an economic project, not a political or military one, and has pledged to continue cooperation with Pakistan despite India’s objections.