- publish: 29 April 2018
- time: 2:01 pm
- category: Economy
- No: 6619
India, China to launch joint economic project in Afghanistan
China and India’s plan to launch a joint economic project was the major takeaway of the two-day informal Wuhan summit in China.
The meeting was mostly meant to discuss a number of key issues, particularly the 72-day military standoff over the disputed border region of the India-China-Bhutan “trijunction”, global governance and shared international challenges.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said “a friendly Sino-Indian relationship is a significant, positive factor in safeguarding world stability,” adding that “China and India should be good neighbours and good friends”.
The two sides reached an understanding to launch a joint economic project in Afghanistan.
According to sources, officials of both sides will identify the scheme in follow-up discussions and work out modalities.
This follows the China-Pakistan-Afghanistan trilateral meeting earlier this month where China announced its plan to extend China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan.
CPEC is the flagship project of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which aims to connect Asia, Europe and the Middle East and Africa with a vast logistics and transport network.
The new development between the two countries is expected to discomfit Pakistan that has been working closely with China lately to establish a foothold in the region.