Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks during a press briefing in Beijing on Monday, dismissing India’s objections to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
“The territory you mentioned belongs to China. It is fully justified for China to conduct infrastructure construction on its own territory,” Mao said, adding that China and Pakistan had signed a boundary agreement in the 1960s to delimit their border as sovereign states.
Earlier this month, India criticised Chinese infrastructure projects in the Shaksgam Valley and reiterated that it does not recognise the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, claiming the area as Indian territory.
At a news conference in New Delhi on January 9, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs described the 1963 China Pakistan boundary agreement as illegal and invalid, according to Times of India, and said New Delhi reserved the right to take necessary measures to safeguard its interests.
Responding to the criticism, Mao said the boundary agreement and the China Pakistan Economic Corridor did not affect China’s position on the Kashmir dispute. She added that the corridor was an economic cooperation initiative aimed at promoting local socioeconomic development and improving livelihoods, and stressed that China’s stance on Kashmir remained unchanged.
China and Pakistan launched the China Pakistan Economic Corridor in 2015 as a flagship cooperation project to boost connectivity, trade and development. The initiative seeks to link Pakistan’s Gwadar Port with China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang through a network of highways, railways and pipelines.
