BEIJING, Feb 28 (APP):China’s marine cooperation with the Maldives carries no military purpose and the Indian media’s exaggerated reports stem from jealousy of Chinese cooperation with South Asian countries, analysts said.
“Any cooperation China conducted with South Asian countries is interpreted by the Indian side as besieging India, as India believes South Asia is its backyard,” Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
The Indian media has increasingly hyped China’s cooperation with the Maldives this year due to the chaotic political situation, Zhao Gancheng, director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the newspaper. India wanted to incite Maldives’ public opinion against China, he said.
Indian media reflected Indian hegemonism and irresponsible remarks on China’s cooperation with the Maldives could harm regional stability, Zhao said.
China and the Maldives signed a protocol to build a joint ocean observation station when President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives visited China in December, according to the website of China’s State Oceanic Administration.
The two countries would accelerate plans to build the station to observe the climate and the ocean, and deepen cooperation in marine ecology preservation, prevention of marine disasters and marine scientific research, according to the protocol.
While denying its military purpose, Hu said that building an ocean observatory station with countries such as the Maldives could greatly reduce the cost of ocean measurement and improve the accuracy and stability of signals used for marine research.
Chinese analysts said that the Maldives is an important country on the route of the Belt and Road initiative and China has strengthened cooperation with the Maldives in ocean and port construction since 2014.
Marine cooperation between China and the Maldives started in 2014 and the two countries have established a stable and long-term cooperation mechanism, the ocean administration said.
From 2015 to 2017, China and the Maldives conducted two phases of joint marine investigation in waters surrounding the islands, which provided data about Indian Ocean climate change and monsoons.

BEIJING, Feb 28 (APP):China will likely be willing to offer more assistance to help its iron brother and strategic partner improve economic conditions, but the question is how to find an effective way.
Pakistan’s economy is facing problems for many reasons, but the fact that Pakistan’s GDP grew 5.3 percent in fiscal 2017 – the fastest pace in a decade – can’t be ignored, according to an article published by the Global Times on Wednesday.
The two countries will move ahead with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which has become a driving force for Pakistan’s economic growth. The question is how its investment-driven growth can be transformed into internal momentum for economic expansion.
While the first phase of the CPEC concentrated on infrastructure projects, the second part should focus on setting up special economic zones and establishing mutual connectivity to support economic integration.
Pakistan’s strategic location is a major attraction for companies to invest in and obtain lucrative returns. Now, the nation must give full play to its advantages.
The most important maritime trade route that China has now is through the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca. The CPEC is designed to connect Gwadar Port in Southwest Pakistan with China’s inland areas, offering another route for Chinese importers and exporters.
Improvements in Pakistan’s trade-related sectors, such as warehousing, logistics, integrated services and e-commerce, can turn the nation into a new trans-shipment point for exports to China. Efforts to upgrade the bilateral free trade agreement will also help realize economic potential.
Trade and fiscal deficits have long been seen by some observers as the thorniest issues faced by the South Asian country. Making Pakistan a new trans-shipment point will help the nation boost exports and slash its trade deficit with China. This situation may also help Pakistan conserve its foreign exchange reserves.
China is expected to continue to encourage outbound investment, but investors should also be reminded to exercise caution.
The CPEC is one of the flagship projects in China’s one Belt and one Road initiative. The Chinese government should give more guidance to companies with an eye to the South Asian country to reduce the risk of inefficient investment.

BEIJING, Feb 28 (APP):Seafood from Pakistan is gaining in popularity in China, not only because of its low prices but also because of support from government policies.
A report from the UK-based undercurrentnews.com in December 2016 said that China had overtaken the EU and Japan at that point to become the largest seafood export market for Pakistan.
“Currently, domestic demand exceeds supply in terms of Pakistani seafood imports,” Chen Hai’ou, president of Kashgar Mufeng and Hezhengyuan Biotechnology Co, told the Global Times.
Several seafood distributors said that Pakistani seafood, compared with seafood imported from other sources, is more cost-effective.
In recent years, the Chinese government has rolled out measures that have encouraged and facilitated imports of seafood from Pakistan and India.
One example is the establishment of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project of the one Belt and one Road initiative, which has enriched the transportation channels for Pakistani seafood to enter China.
According to Chen, in the past, Pakistani seafood could enter China only via sea or air transport. But, after the corridor was set up, his company started importing Pakistani seafood by land transportation via Pakistan’s Gwadar Port as well as via Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
“Pakistani seafood needs to travel only for three days via land transportation to China, compared with 40 days by the sea, so the cash conversion cycle can be much shorter,” Chen said, adding that the seafood will be sold in northwestern and southwestern regions in China.
Chen also said that with the large demand for seafood in those regions, as well as the lower transportation costs, more companies will engage in seafood trade with Pakistan. “The business has a promising future,” he said.
Apart from transportation, the government has also lowered import tariffs on many types of seafood such as frozen crabs and shrimps, starting from December 2017.
Most observers believed that more international air cargo routes between Pakistan and China’s inland cities are needed to enhance seafood and fruits exports from Pakistan to China.
They agree that seafood and fruit can become bright spots in Pakistan’s exports to China, and the only question is how this potential can be realized.
Although the CPEC is designed to connect the Gwadar Port in Southwest Pakistan with Kashgar, most of the seafood sold in Xinjiang is transferred from the southeast coast of China, which is thousands of kilometers away.
Before Urumqi airport became licensed as a designated port of entry for imported chilled and fresh aquatic products last year, it took seven to 10 days for such imports to be transferred to inland Xinjiang after arriving on the southeast coast.
It is now feasible to meet Xinjiang consumers’ demand for seafood with Pakistan’s high-quality products, and this will certainly expand China’s imports from the South Asian country.