CPEC addresses development gaps in Pakistan with small debt: foreign ministry

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has helped Pakistan address development gaps in energy infrastructure, industrialization and job creation with a small debt, said Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs here on Thursday.

Spokesperson of Pakistan's Foreign Office Mumtaz Zahra Baloch rejected a foreign media report about CPEC, underlining, "CPEC is a transformational project that has contributed positively and transparently to Pakistan's national development."

The spokesperson said the CPEC has been enjoying support and popularity in all provinces of Pakistan and across the political divide in Pakistan.

Highlighting the success and importance of the CPEC, the spokesperson said, "We also believe that regional economic connectivity will provide a critical stimulus for creating broad-based growth across the region."

Launched in 2013, the CPEC is a corridor linking the Gwadar Port in southwest Pakistan's Balochistan province with Kashgar in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation in the first phase, while the new phase expands to fields of agriculture and livelihood, among others. ■