China-Pakistan ‘Friendship’ At Stake

According to foreign media reported on Feb 26, Pakistani nuclear physicist and activist Pervez Hoodbhoy said the unbreakable bonds of the Pakistan-China friendship are under stress. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which began in 2013 as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, cost $\62 billion to date. Pakistan is now debt-ridden and has been scouting for new loans to repay old ones. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) may be short-selling Pakistan. Duty-free imports from China have driven local Pakistani manufacturers into bankruptcy. As per the World Bank report, Pakistan’s total foreign debt is $\126 billion, of which $\30 billion is held by Communist China. More than two months ago, Pakistan applied for two commercial loans totaling $\1 billion from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and had hoped to receive the money instantaneously. However, ICBC did not grant the two loans, resulting in a significant reduction in Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves. A $\700 million loan agreement between Pakistan and the China Development Bank (CDB) was reached over the weekend, on condition that Pakistan first repays a $\300 million loan from Communist China. The debt trap created by Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative has led to a deep debt crisis in participating countries. Beijing usually uses debt repayment as an excuse to seize infrastructure in indebted countries to achieve its overseas territory and military expansion. The Chinese regime is experiencing domestic woes of collapsing real estate market, food shortages, and depleted foreign exchange. The so-called “friendship” between China and Pakistan, which was once maintained by the CCP’s investment dumping, simply cannot withstand the test of money.