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Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian speaks to the media in Beijing on July 15, 2021. PHOTO: MED GIFTER/CHINESE EMBASSY IN SOUTH AFRICA
The Chinese embassy on Tuesday strongly rejected the US envoy’s claims of a so-called “debt trap” in China-Pakistan relations, calling the remarks agenda-driven and asserting that Beijing’s robust cooperation with Islamabad would not be disrupted by a “rhetorical trap”.
In a statement, the embassy spokesman responded to Pakistani media reports quoting Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker, who had expressed concern over Pakistan’s economic engagement with China, and called for Islamabad to protect itself from falling into any country’s “debt trap”.
The spokesman said the US diplomat’s reference to a “so-called ‘debt trap’ rhetoric” was itself a “rhetorical trap”, adding that it amounted to “playing the same old tune and twisting the truth with an agenda”.
Referring to Pakistan’s own public positions, the Chinese embassy emphasized that “Western countries and multilateral financial institutions are its biggest creditors”, while “China’s financial support and practical cooperation with Pakistan have effectively helped Pakistan stabilize its finances, develop its economy and improve people’s livelihoods”.
“Pakistan has on several occasions publicly stated that Western countries and multilateral financial institutions are its biggest creditors, whereas China’s financial support and practical cooperation with Pakistan have effectively helped Pakistan stabilize its finances, develop its economy and improve people’s livelihoods,” the statement read.
