China has refused to further expand cooperation in the areas of energy, water management, and climate change under the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), it emerged on Tuesday, signalling a strain in the ‘ironclad’ friendship between the two all-weather allies.
Cash-strapped Pakistan also gave up its opposition to setting up a new imported coal-fired power plant in Gwadar in Balochistan province and agreed to a number of Chinese demands to address Beijing’s concerns, The Express Tribune newspaper reported, citing the signed minutes of the 11th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of the CPEC.
