Alice Wells, the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia has warned Pakistan regarding the economic risks involved in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC). Wells was of the opinion that CPEC would only benefit the Chinese and claimed that the US of had a better model than it. She noted that the much hyped CPEC, which Pakistan hopes would be a game changer for its economy is based on non concessionary loans and use of Chinese labour and materials. Wells warned that Pakistani economy would be hit very badly in 5-6 years when it is time to repay the loans it took under CPEC. The US has been critical of CPEC project which is President Xi Jinping’s pet project and involves building heavy infrastructure in the form of roads, railways and ports around the world. Wells advocated that American companies bring not merely capital but also a work ethic, technology, management process hence contributing to capacity building in the local economy. The biggest project under CPEC is the Gwadar port in the Arabian Sea which in turn would be linked through a highway to China’s Xinjiang province, this way China hopes it would be able to lessen it’s dependence on the disputed South China Sea from where most of its oil shipments come.
US Warns Pakistan Regarding CPEC
