- Urges regional members of UN to play role in resolving Kashmir issue
Bilal Sabri & Tehzeebul Hasnain
ISLAMABAD – Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing on Tuesday deplored the fact that the US administration was ‘politicising’ the Coronavirus outbreak by evacuating its diplomats and citizens out of China rather than supporting China in fight against the deadly disease.
In an exclusive interview with DiploMag, Ambassador Yao Jing said that China believed that a leading country like the United States should have helped China in fighting the deadly disease.
“If they put human safety or human welfare first, they should have supported China. There are some other countries also making different noises while we are fighting to save humanity. But I don’t think that this kind of noises or this kind of disturbance will stop us from focusing on this battle against Coronavirus disease. We are fighting this battle as we believe that if we failed this battle, it would have consequences for the entire world,” said the Ambassador.
CHINA BATTLING OUT CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
Briefing on the measures taken to contain Coronavirus epidemic, Ambassador Yao Jing said that the Chinese government is taking all possible measures to counter Coronavirus and prevent further spread of the epidemic.
“Coronavirus outbreak is a huge challenge for China and the world. It is a welcome sign that 500 people have been cured successfully. Government is working hard to find proper medication for curing the patients with help of medical expert from all around the world,” he said.
CHINA NOT TO ‘ENCOURAGE’ IMMEDIATE EVACUATION OF PAKISTANIS
Talking about the Pakistani students living in Wuhan city or elsewhere in China, Ambassador Yao Jing said that China has put restrictions on evacuation from Wuhan city, the center of Coronavirus outbreak.
“My role is to do my best to stop spread of virus into Pakistan. For this purpose, we don’t encourage immediate evacuation of foreigners from China. Chinese government has serious concerns for the Pakistani community”.
He said that Chinese medics have better understanding and capacity handle the disease.
“Wuhan city has been declared Red Zone and the city has been totally shutdown with travel ban imposed. However, students in other regions may return to Pakistan. But they would have to spend 14 days incubation period first in China. After arriving Pakistan, they would have to again spend 14-day incubation period in Pakistan. Once screened out, they may move to their homes,” asserted the ambassador.
“I understand there is panic among Pakistani students. But the students in China need to understand the situation and gravity of the crisis. We need to ensure that the disease may not spread to other states. We have reports of two fresh positive cases each in US, Germany and Russia and they all were recently evacuated from China,” Yao Jing asserted.
CPEC NOT TO BE AFFECTED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
Ambassador Yao Jing said the Coronavirus outbreak would have no impact on the implementation timelines of projects under China, Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) or the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Ambassador Yao Jing said that almost all projects under early harvest phase of the CPEC have been completed or near completion.
“However, there are ongoing negotiations on projects in second phase like ML-1. Government is very keen to get the CPEC projects completed in time. We look towards the CPEC and BRI in a long term perspective. So there would be no impact on these projects,” he said and added that the BRI would help drive the economy of international allies of China.
Welcoming the statement by Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce, Trade and Industry Abdul Razzak Dawood, Ambassador Yao Jing said China would continue its economic cooperation with Pakistan.
CHINESE ECONOMY MAY SEE IMMEDIATE HIT BUT NO MAJOR IMPACT
Asked whether the Chinese economic growth would suffer due to Coronavirus epidemic, Amb Yao Jing said Chinese economy has huge size.
“We have manufacturing economy which domestically would suffer in its first quarter this year as huge resources have been allocated to fight Coronavirus. However, in the long term, there would be no major impact and we would overcome the immediate strain,” he added.
URGES REGIONAL MEMBERS OF UN TO PLAY ROLE IN RESOLVING KASHMIR
Responding to a query about Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK), Ambassador Yao Jing said that the Kashmir issue is directly related to the international justice.
“We are concerned about the situation in Kashmir. From China’s perspective, I think this relates to India, Pakistan relations. Both the countries are neighbours and this historical dispute and you have to find a justified solution.”
He said that Kashmir problem also relates to the South Asia regional peace and stability. He said because of Kashmir issue, regional tensions may rise which would be detrimental to the international community.
“This is more important that it is related to international justice and one country’s unilateral action can’t be justified. I believe bilateral dialogue is must for a peaceful solution of Kashmir issue. All the responsible members of the United Nations of the origin should play their constructive role to calm down the situation of unrest,” he concluded.
