QUETTA: The Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, Sun Weidong, said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would "bring an end to unemployment" in Balochistan, making the province a "major beneficiary" of the multi-billion dollar economic development project.
"CPEC would help in boosting economic activities and reduce poverty in Pakistan," the Ambassador stated in a gathering on Thursday. It was attended by tribal elites, investors and people belonging to various walks of life at a local hotel in the provincial capital.
Weidong said the giant project would boost the Gross Domestic Production (GDP), adding that the region would also be open to "new vistas of development and prosperity".
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"Gwadar Deep Sea Port would link Pakistan with China, Middle East, Europe, Central Asian states and other parts of the world," he told the attendees.
The Chinese ambassador further elaborated that China was working on various energy, infrastructure and industrial cooperation projects in Pakistan, including the Gwadar Deep Sea Port.
He said that the bilateral trade between Pakistan and China has crossed 14 billion US dollars and efforts were on to further amplify trade between the two neighbours.
Related: ‘Balochistan will be main beneficiary of China-Pakistan economic corridor’
"Pakistan is our iron-brother," he said, adding that the friendship between the two time-tested friends was "deeper than an ocean".
The Ambassador spoke at length about the proposed development projects in various sectors and underlined the need for joint and effective efforts to reduce poverty and unemployment in the region.
Referring to China's economy as the world's second largest after United States, he said that China's GDP had reached 10 billion US dollars and "within a very short span of time, this would be doubled".
The Chinese diplomat, however, stated that 70 million people in China were still living under the poverty line and that his government is putting in tireless efforts to improve the living standards of its citizens.
"We consider Pakistan's pain as our pain", he said, acknowledging the considerable sacrifices that Pakistan has rendered to eradicate terrorism in the region.
Also read: Pak-China corridor
