Will Pakistan be caught in a massive Chinese debt trap and eventually become China's colony? What are the terms of Chinese financing and investments in CPEC projects in Pakistan?
Are Pakistanis required to pay exorbitant interest rates on infrastructure loans and unreasonably high return on equity on power plant investments?
Is there an IBM-like organized campaign of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) being waged by CPEC's detractors to convince Pakistanis that it's a zero sum game in which China's gain is Pakistan's loss?
Is there no possibility of win-win in CPEC for both China and Pakistan?
Azad Labon Ke Saath host Faraz Darvesh discusses these questions in Urdu with Riaz Haq (www.riazhaq.com)
https://youtu.be/YZzea9OsC2k
Related Links:
Haq's Musings
Campaign of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt Against CPEC
CPEC Financing: Is China Ripping Off Pakistan?
CPEC Transforming Least Developed Parts of Pakistan
Pakistan Rising or Falling? Reality vs Perception
Pakistan Generating Positive Vibes at Davos 2018
CPEC to Create Over 2 Million Jobs in Pakistan
Pakistan's $20 Billion Tourism Industry Boom
Home Appliance Ownership in Pakistani Households
Riaz Haq's YouTube Channel
PakAlumni Social Network
2 comments:
#Eurasia, the supercontinent will define this century. #Pakistan #China #CPEC #BRI
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/02/how-countries-can-find-their-place-in-the-new-eurasian-century/
The end of the Cold War was supposed to inaugurate Europe’s age of reconciliations, when the continent, finally at peace with itself, would be able to exist as a unified whole. But reconciliation worked perhaps too well: the disappearance of the Iron Curtain also meant that Europe struggled to differentiate itself from the lands to the east. By expanding it might expand without limits; by retreating it might become an importer of instability.
The decade that brought down the Berlin Wall was also responsible for opening China to global capitalism. Deep value chains were quickly established, together with the infrastructure - both physical and digital - necessary to make them work. It is frequently forgotten that this infrastructure was first developed by Western multinationals and financial institutions.
In recent years, Chinese authorities have increasingly taken on this task and with the Belt and Road Initiative, a development project of unmatched ambition, they intend to be firmly in control. Spanning some 70 countries and requiring investment approaching $4 trillion, the initiative is deliberately intended to reshape the global political and economic order. China's trade with countries along the Belt and Road rose 17.8% year-on-year in January 2018.
Pakistan revives Belt-and-Road projects under Chinese pressure
https://www.ft.com/content/ab809f2c-1101-11ea-a7e6-62bf4f9e548a
China has long faced criticism that its BRI projects burden fiscally weak countries with unsustainable debt. Islamabad is expected to pay $40bn in debt repayments and dividends to China over the next two decades.
Sakib Sherani, former adviser to the Pakistani finance minister, told the Financial Times that CPEC-related debt is “not unmanageable” but cautioned that Pakistan’s ability to meet its debt obligations hinges on increasing exports.
“There is a disconnect. CPEC-related debt eventually must generate enough exports to be able to deal with the repayments,” he said.
Last month US ambassador Alice Wells warned that “China is going to take a growing toll on the Pakistan economy”. She added: “Even if loan payments are deferred, they’re going to hang over Pakistan’s economic development potential, hamstringing prime minister Khan’s reform agenda.”
Beijing dismissed these fears. “Debt incurred from CPEC stands at $4.9bn, less than one-tenth of Pakistan’s total debt. I’m afraid US is not bad at math, but rather misguided by evil calculations,” a Chinese spokesman said on Twitter. “Whatever the US says or does to sabotage our co-operation, China will work with Pakistan for steady progress in CPEC.”
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