US warns Pakistan of long-term consequences for pursuing China’s Economic Corridor project

The United States warned Pakistan that it faced long-term economic damage with little return if China keeps pursuing its giant infrastructure push.

The top US diplomat for South Asia said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor heralded as a game-changer by both Asian countries but this would profit only Beijing and said that the United States offered a better model.  

Speaking at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, acting assistant secretary of state for South Asia,  Alice Wells said it needs to be clear, that CPEC is not about aid since it is driven by non-concessionary loans, with Chinese companies sending their own labor and material.

She said the corridor is going to take a growing toll on the Pakistan economy, especially when the bulk of payments start to come due in the next four to six years.

While acknowledging that the United States could not come to Pakistan with offers from state-run companies, Wells said private US investment, coupled with US grants, would improve the troubled economy’s fundamentals.