{"id":1433300,"date":"2022-04-12T13:31:02","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T17:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1433300"},"modified":"2022-04-12T13:31:30","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T17:31:30","slug":"pakistan-incoming-prime-minister-vows-to-protect-chinese-belt-and-road-investments-on-first-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pakistan-incoming-prime-minister-vows-to-protect-chinese-belt-and-road-investments-on-first-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan: Incoming Prime Minister Vows to Protect Chinese Belt and Road Investments on First Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpakistan-incoming-prime-minister-vows-to-protect-chinese-belt-and-road-investments-on-first-day%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1433300&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">The newly minted prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, used his first speech as the head of the country\u2019s government on Monday to promise China its investments in the country would be safe on his watch.<\/p>\n<p>Sharif became prime minister after a dramatic battle in the past month to force a no-confidence vote against his predecessor, Imran Khan, a radical Islamist who called for global blasphemy laws but endorsed the genocide of Muslims in China. Khan attempted to dissolve Parliament to prevent the vote, but authorities branded his move unconstitutional and let the vote move forward on Sunday, forcing him to vacate the position.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>Chinese businesses capitalized greatly on ties with Pakistan during Khan\u2019s tenure, particularly through investing in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the local Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project. The BRI is a global dept trap plan that China claims is intended to reconstruct the Ancient Silk Road, which connected eastern China to western Europe. The territory now known as Pakistan was a critical portion of the Ancient Silk Road, but the project has struggled against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/national-security\/2017\/05\/22\/pakistan-alleged-terrorists-kill-13-silk-road-workers-as-us-warns-project-offers-targets-for-militants\/\">terrorist<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/national-security\/2017\/05\/25\/beijing-vows-to-rescue-two-chinese-nationals-kidnapped-in-terror-safe-haven-pakistan\/\">attacks<\/a> by local jihadists even with support from Khan.<\/p>\n<p>Sharif \u2013 younger brother of Khan\u2019s predecessor, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif \u2013 had stated before taking on the top office that he was interested in improving ties with the United States that Khan had damaged through anti-American belligerence, including openly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/news\/pakistan-pm-imran-khan-slammed-for-saying-bin-laden-was-martyred\/\">praising<\/a> Osama bin Laden. Sharif had outraged some in Pakistan by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samaaenglish.tv\/news\/2022\/04\/beggars-cant-be-choosers-shehbaz-sharif-geo-news-interview\/\">explaining<\/a> his desire to foster closer relations with America with the idiom, \u201cbeggars can\u2019t be choosers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Following his swearing-in ceremony, however, Sharif reportedly emphasized diplomacy and business with China.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_20627156\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1239923209.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-20627156\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1239923209-1024x683-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"990\" height=\"660\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Supporters of newly elected Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif celebrate at the party office in Rawalpindi on April 11, 2022. (FAROOQ NAEEM\/AFP via Getty)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThere should be no doubt that China and Pakistan are time-tested friends and nobody can separate us,\u201d Sharif reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wionews.com\/south-asia\/from-threat-letter-to-china-to-kashmir-issue-key-points-from-pakistan-pm-shehbaz-sharifs-address-470294\">said<\/a>, according to India\u2019s WIO News. \u201cIt will last till the Judgment Day. I assure that CPEC will go onwards at Pakistan\u2019s speed. Thankful to President Xi Jinping.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Sharif reportedly addressed America only by acknowledging that, under Khan, \u201cthere were hiccups\u201d in bilateral ties \u2013 \u201csome confusion, some ups and downs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Chinese state propaganda newspaper\u00a0<em>Global Times<\/em> enthusiastically repeated Sharif\u2019s vow of support for Beijing in its pages on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShehbaz Sharif promised to vigorously promote the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in a speech after winning the election on Monday, according to media reports,\u201d the\u00a0<em>Times<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globaltimes.cn\/page\/202204\/1259071.shtml\">repeated<\/a>. \u201cShehbaz had previously spoken highly of the CPEC several times, calling it an ambitious blueprint to transform Pakistan into a major emerging economy so that the less developed parts of the country could enjoy the dividends of development.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Chinese government-approved \u201cexperts\u201d told the\u00a0<em>Global Times<\/em> that Sharif making time for the CPEC in his first remarks as prime minister \u201chighlighted the importance he attached to the relationship\u201d with the Chinese Communist Party.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn fact, the CPEC has been through several changes of government since its establishment, but it has always been highly appreciated and promoted by the Pakistani side,\u201d researcher Long Xingchun told the <em>Times<\/em>, \u201cwhich shows that the project is a reflection of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, and also helps the two countries and the people of the region.\u201d<br \/>Prior to Khan\u2019s ouster, the Chinese government, through its propaganda arms, echoed Khan\u2019s claims that the United States had organized the no-confidence vote as part of a foreign conspiracy because of his attempts to improve relations with Russia. Khan brandished a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/article\/international\/us-denies-sending-conspiracy-letter-to-topple-imran-khan-govt-122033100205_1.html\">foreign conspiracy letter<\/a>\u201d that he claimed was a diplomatic cable detailing an American plot to remove him, which the U.S. government denied. Chinese media outlets keenly reproduced the claims.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20627174\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1239927948.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-20627174\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1239927948-1024x683-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"990\" height=\"660\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Labourers read morning newspapers along a roadside in Pakistan\u2019s port city of Karachi on April 12, 2022. Pakistan lawmakers on April 11 elected Shehbaz Sharif as the country\u2019s new prime minister following the weekend ouster of Imran Khan, who resigned his national assembly seat \u2014 along with most of his party members \u2014 ahead of the vote. (RIZWAN TABASSUM\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201c[O]f course, as Khan mentioned, some external forces, especially those from the US, are interfering in the domestic affairs of the South Asian nation,\u201d the\u00a0<em>Global Times<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globaltimes.cn\/page\/202204\/1257601.shtml\">alleged<\/a>\u00a0last week. \u201cZhao Gancheng, a research fellow at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS), told the Global Times that Washington has failed in its attempts to rope in Khan, so it is possible it now has meddled in Pakistan\u2019s politics to topple the current government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite defending Khan from imagined American intervention, Chinese officials immediately embraced Sharif. The\u00a0<em>Global Times\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/asia\/2022\/04\/11\/china-says-ties-with-pakistan-remain-friendly-after-pm-imran-khan-ousted\/\">speculated<\/a> Shehbaz Sharif could be \u201ceven better\u201d for China than Khan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe potential successor of Khan is from the Sharif family which has been promoting China-Pakistan ties for a long time, and cooperation between the two countries could be even better than under Khan,\u201d the\u00a0<em>Times<\/em>\u00a0observed prior to Sharif formally being sworn in as prime minister.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, the first opportunity it had to address Sharif\u2019s ascent, the Foreign Ministry heartily embraced the new prime minister.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe congratulate Mr. Shahbaz Sharif on his election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. China and Pakistan are all-weather comprehensive strategic cooperative partners with rock-solid and unbreakable relations,\u201d Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fmprc.gov.cn\/mfa_eng\/xwfw_665399\/s2510_665401\/2511_665403\/202204\/t20220412_10667041.html\">told<\/a> reporters. \u201cChina looks forward to working together with the Pakistani side, carrying on the traditional friendship, deepening cooperation in various areas and building a high-quality China-Pakistan Economic Corridor together to build an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Frances Martel on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/francesimartel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/francesimartel\/&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1649767167560000&#038;usg=AOvVaw3rbnC08FjOcPT_hOd2u8h5\">Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/francesmartel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/twitter.com\/francesmartel&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1649767167560000&#038;usg=AOvVaw29eMJmL6xeLuvpNTZcl2Q_\">Twitter.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The newly minted prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, used his first speech as the head of the country\u2019s government on Monday to promise China its investments in the country<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1433300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1433300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1433300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1433300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1433300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}