China,Pakistan to ink agreement to ensure transparency in CPEC implementation: Jianchao

ISLAMABAD, Nov 29 (APP): China and Pakistan would soon sign an agreement aimed at ensuring transparency in the implementation of energy and infrastructure projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is an important part of China’s One Belt One Road Initiative.
The most important projects to be completed under the CEPC initiative
included Gwadar port, the second phase of the upgrading project of
Karakoram Highway, motorway project between Karachi and Lahore, Thakot Havelian motorway, Gwadar port expressway, Gwadar international airport
and Karachi-Sukkur motorway.
China and Pakistan will work together to make the CPEC and other
bilateral development projects transparent and free of any corruption, Chinese Assistant Minister, National Bureau of Corruption Prevention,
Liu Jianchao said in a recent interaction with media persons here.
The Chinese minister who visited Pakistan to attend Ombudsman
Conference said that he also held meetings with Chairman, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and other Pakistani officials and shared
Chinese experience against corruption.
Terming the CPEC most important project in Sino-Pak bilateral
relations, he said, there was a need to make all possible efforts for
its success.
Liu Jianchao, who earlier had served his country as Assistant
Foreign Minister and took the new assignment two months back, gave
details of the ongoing efforts making the Chinese society free of corruption. For this, he gave credit to leadership of the Chinese
Communist Party, especially Chinese President Xi Jinping.
He said the CPEC would be a symbol of good governance, as it would be
clean and transparent and added under the law, it was forbidden for any Chinese business company to get itself involved in corruption, while carrying out development projects.
However, both sides would work closely to prevent, detect and control
corruption in all the projects, undertaken at their bilateral level, he added.
Liu Jianchao who was serving as Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister
before assuming his new assignment, said the leadership of both countries attached great importance to CPEC and wanted to make it successful at
all costs.
This project would contribute a lot to promote peace and development
not only in the two countries, but also in the region. It was a pilot project of One Road, One Belt initiative of the Chinese Government.
The Chinese minister, while praising high the Sino-Pak friendship
said that they were looking forward to haveclose cooperation in fighting corruption.
Liu Jianchao termed corruption a great threat to security, peace and
socio-economic development.
His country, he said, had adopted a policy of zero tolerance against
corruption. Thousands of Chinese people, found committing corruption had been punished. There were over 150 top government officials who had faced serious punishment for corrupt practices.
He said there were about 600 corrupt Chinese officials who had fled
abroad and the government succeeded in bringing them back and punished
them under the law.
The Chinese minister said that more than 230,000 corrupt people were
investigated and out of them 90 percent were punished during the last
three years.