Pakistan, China sign road link accord to boost trade 06, 2013 BEIJING: China and Pakistan set their sights on Friday on developing a transport link through rugged mountains and lawless lands, a route they hope will boost economic growth and bring critical oil supplies to power-hungry China much faster. A broad agreement for the “economic corridor” was among eight pacts signed following a meeting in Beijing between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The 2,000km transport link was described as a “long-term plan” to connect Kashgar in northwestern China to the Pakistani port of Gwadar, likely by road in the beginning and possibly by rail later. “Let me tell you very candidly and very sincerely that what I am witnessing here on my visit to Beijing, it reminds me of the saying our friendship is higher than the Himalayas and deeper than the deepest sea in the world, and sweeter than honey,” Sharif told Li at the start of their meeting, employing the usual effusive language with which the two nations describe their relationship. A joint statement issued after the meeting affirmed their support for an Afghan-led peace effort in the country following the withdrawal of US troops next year. It said they would “work with the regional countries and the international community to help Afghanistan achieve peace, stability and security.” The statement said a joint committee will be set up that will oversee the upgrading and realigning of the 1,300km Karakoram highway running from Kashgar to the Pakistani town of Abbottabad over mountain passes as high as 4,693 metres. If the transport link takes off, oil from the Middle East could be offloaded at Gwadar, which is located just outside the mouth of the Gulf, and transported to China through the lawless Baluchistan province in Paksitan and the rugged Karakoram mountains. Associated Press
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 09:53:55 +0000