China and Pakistan have kicked off their multi-billion dollar Economic Corridor project that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by laying the foundation of a fenced four-lane motorway, setting in motion a mammoth project connecting the two countries.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif performed the groundbreaking of a section of the motorway in the country's northwest on Saturday, signalling the implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) agreement.
The 60 km long four-lane fenced Hazara Motorway in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province would cost $297 million and take two years to complete.
Sharif during his China visit early this month signed deals worth $45.6 billion which included projects connected with the Corridor, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
India has expressed its reservations to China over the Corridor as it is laid through the PoK. China defends the project saying it helps regional development.
The Corridor was proposed in an agreement reached during Li's visit to Pakistan in May 2013.
Planned to connect Kashgar in China's Xinjiang with Pakistan's Gwadar Port in Balochistan province, the corridor is expected to serve as a terminal for China to pump oil procurement from the Persian gulf.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a key foreign policy speech that the rising Asian nation would protect its sovereign territory, the Xinhua news agency reported, as it faces maritime disputes with several neighbours.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a key foreign policy speech that the rising Asian nation would protect its sovereign territory, the Xinhua news agency reported, as it faces maritime disputes with several neighbours.
{{/usCountry}}"We should firmly uphold China's territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests and national unity," Xi told a Communist Party meeting on foreign affairs.