China, Pakistan, Afghanistan Agree to Expand CPEC Amid Trilateral Talks

On Wednesday, China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan agreed to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan during an informal trilateral meeting in Beijing, reported Reuters.

The informal meeting was attended by Pakistan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and Amir Khan Muttaqi who is Afghanistan's acting foreign minister.

The three countries discussed diplomatic engagements and actions aimed at advancing trade, infrastructure and development in their respective countries.

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To emphasise the countries' commitment to development actions, the three countries pledged to enhance cooperation upon the Belt and Road Initiative and to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into Afghanistan.

In a post on X, after the meeting, Ishaq Dar said, “Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan stand together for regional peace, stability and development."

Dar is in the third day of his visit to China, his first high-level interaction since tensions escalated with India.

In a statement released by Pakistan's foreign ministry, they disclosed that the meeting would be the 6th Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which would take place in Kabul on a mutually foremost convenience.

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The foreign ministry also said that the visit had “reaffirmed their iron-clad friendship and advanced their shared vision for international and regional peace and development.”

India's objection to CPEC

India had opposed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor's (CPEC) expansion into any third nation.

According to ANI, the Ministry of External Affairs had warned last year that nations taking part in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects would be encroaching on Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir.

As a component of China's "Belt and Road Initiative," the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor aims to revitalize trade routes in south-east Asian coastal nations.

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