On December 25, 2020, the Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination (JWG-ICC) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) held the second meeting in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The meeting was co-chaired by Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui and Foreign Secretary of Pakistan Sohail Mahmood.
After looking back at the work progress achieved since the inaugural meeting of JWG-ICC on April 9, 2019, the two sides agreed that the two countries’ close cooperation and mutual support amid the COVID-19 outbreak has laid the foundation for economic recovery in the post-pandemic era and injected new momentum into the construction of the CPEC. The two sides reiterated that they will implement the consensus of the two leaders and promote the CPEC to focus more upon industry, agriculture, science and technology, and people’s livelihood fields and to reach into less developed areas, so as to make the CPEC a model project for the high-quality development of the Belt and Road cooperation. The two sides reaffirmed that the CPEC is an open and inclusive initiative, and its construction will be launched with third parties following the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and on the basis of consensus between China and Pakistan through negotiations and full demonstration.
The two sides agreed to continue to publicize the positive role of the CPEC in improving local livelihoods and to clarify inaccurate reports about the CPEC in a timely manner. They encourage the media, film and television, and publishing sectors of the two countries to strengthen cooperation on the CPEC-related topics, and welcome think tanks, experts and scholars of the two countries to conduct bilateral and multilateral exchanges on the CPEC construction, in a bid to jointly expand the CPEC’s influence and spur the high-quality development of the Belt and Road cooperation.
The two sides signed the minutes of the meeting, reflecting the consensus reached at the meeting.