"Although China has said that it will support Pakistan in stabilising its financial situation,
there is no explicit and tangible explanation for this remark made by President Xi.
Pakistan is struggling with a balance of payment (BoP) crisis which aggravated due to devastating floods this summer, burdening it with an estimated $30 billion losses.
Pakistan was expected to seek debt relief from China, particularly the rollover of bilateral debt of around $23 billion. This is the most critical concession sought from China and was on Pakistan’s wish list of discussions. In the joint declaration and in any of the media talk there is no explicit mention of the outcome of the debt rescheduling. One knows that China is strict on loan conditions and does not encourage renegotiations.
Further, to spur economic growth in the country,
Pakistan was to prevail upon China to shift its low-end industry to Special Economic Zones being set up by China in Pakistan as earlier scheduled. China has shifted many of its low-end industry to cost-effective states in Asia.
A response to this request, if any, is also not known.
The balance of trade between China and Pakistan continues to be heavily skewed in favour of China. Much has been talked about to strike some balance but Pakistan,
so far, has not been able to break down barriers at home and in China’s markets."
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif concluded his two-day November 1-2 visit to China. With effectively on one day at his...
www.brecorder.com