Fu Xiaoqiang, director of Chinese Centre for Counter-terrorism Studies, told state-run China Daily today that ETIM has been funded by al-Qaeda and its members are active in tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The two sides signed MOUs for the construction of new Gwadar international airport, upgrading part of the Karakorum highway linking them besides establishing a joint research centre for hydropower technology.
China which provided financial assistance to build Gwadar port has already taken over its operations.
Strategically located in the Arabian Sea facing India's west coast including the Mumbai Port, Gwadar will be linked with an Economic Corridor consisting road, railway, gas pipelines besides an optic fibre cable with China's Xinjiang province through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
It will provide an opening for China to the Indian Ocean and the Gulf region. While there was no official announcement, the China Daily said the project could cost over USD 20 billion.
“The leaders of China and Pakistan urged relevant offices on both sides to speed up work on the economic corridor,” a joint statement said.
