China’s stance on India’s CPEC offer not in tune with its envoy

China’s Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui made headlines last week with an offer to rename the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as well as build an alternative corridor through Jammu and Kashmir. But it isn’t clear if the envoy was speaking with Beijing’s backing in making the two proposals.

China’s Foreign Ministry declined to endorse Luo’s two proposals when asked by India Today to clarify if the envoy’s initiatives did indeed carry official approval. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing also declined to say whether it was either willing to rename the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which India has objected to as it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), or to consider an alternative route to Jammu and Kashmir.

On the contrary, Beijing’s statement to India Today defended CPEC and said the corridor “does not affect the position of China” on territorial issues, suggesting the Chinese government saw little need in renaming the corridor as it was, in Beijing’s view, “has nothing to do with sovereignty disputes”.

In a speech in Delhi on Friday, Luo said China “can change the name of CPEC” and “create an alternative corridor through Jammu and Kashmir, Nathu La pass or Nepal to deal with India’s concerns.”

Asked in Beijing if the Chinese Foreign Ministry could clarify his comments and if the Chinese government was indeed open to renaming CPEC and creating alternative routes, the Foreign Ministry said: “The Chinese side is ready to work with all neighbouring countries to strengthen connectivity building and advance regional economic cooperation and common prosperity. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a cooperative framework built by China and Pakistan bearing in mind cooperation in all fields and long-term development of the two countries. It is not only according to the interests of China and Pakistan, but also is conducive to stability and development of the region. CPEC is an economic cooperation initiative and has nothing to do with sovereignty disputes. It does not affect the position of China and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.”

Some officials in New Delhi are also taking the envoy’s comments with a grain of salt, uncertain whether the envoy’s proposals were indeed backed by official sanction. They point out that till date, China has neither raised the possibility of renaming CPEC in any official-level talks with India, nor suggested its willingness to invest in Jammu and Kashmir, which Beijing, in the view of many officials, is unlikely to do because of Pakistan’s sensitivities.

The view is the envoy’s comments may perhaps be more likely aimed at creating favourable public opinion on the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) plan of which CPEC is a flagship, rather than represent an official policy change from Beijing which has been deepening economic and military ties with Islamabad.

That did not, however, stop Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti from already welcoming this “proposal”, which she said “reinforces the need to rediscover traditional routes of Kashmir”.

Incidentally, when Luo had similarly offered to rename CPEC in another speech in May, that remark was later removed from the official transcript posted by the Chinese Embassy on its website. In that instance too, Beijing subsequently declined to publicly endorse the offer.

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