China on Wednesday counselled India to shed its objections to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and take advantage of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which had already drawn wide international support.
“You and your colleagues have asked this question before and it shows that India is quite wavering on the issue of the Belt and Road Initiative,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.
Ms. Hua was responding to a question on remarks by the Russian ambassador to India backing a dialogue between New Delhi and Beijing on the BRI.
“I think you must be very clear (that) since the BRI was proposed by President Xi Jinping, progress has been made smoothly with strong outcomes.”
India was among a handful of countries that had skipped attendance in Beijing of the Belt and Road Forum in May, objecting to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passed through Kashmir.
Referring specifically to CPEC, Ms. Hua, in a veiled reference to India, said the project did not target “third countries” or prejudice China’s position on territorial disputes. “We also said many times that the CPEC corridor is an economic cooperation. It is not targeted at any third country and does not involve territorial disputes”.
“We hope that countries and parties with shared vision will work with us to allow practical cooperation to bring more benefits to our peoples.” Signalling China’s openness to India’s participation, Ms. Hua said: “We remain quite open and inclusive to cooperation involving the BRI.”
