Pakistan is slow to complete infrastructure projects under the multi billion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). And China has also been slow to fund new ventures.

Besides Pakistan’s deep economic crisis which has made it a global basket case, China’s post-pandemic slow down has affected the pace of CPEC works, according to media reports. China is either slow or unwilling to advance new loans Pakistan has been seeking, the report said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Beijing last November when he reportedly sought a loan grant of $ 6.3 Billion. His hosts did not respond.

A report in Foreign Policy said, there have been more set backs in the long-standing China-Pakistan ties on the diplomatic front. Last year, China didn’t oppose India’s move to exclude Pakistan from a high-level meeting on the sidelines of a virtual BRICS summit. China which hosted the event might have stepped in to help Pakistan in such circumstances but it did not, the report claimed.

Some analysts have argued that Beijing views the current Pakistani government as too unstable to be a viable partner, the Foreign Policy said.

For China, a major concern is the growing security risks to its work force in Pakistan. These worries are said to have contributed to slowing down Chinese investments in Pakistan. (SAT)