Belt and Road initiative does not involve territorial disputes: China

Belt and Road project includes China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Beijing: China said on Wednesday that New Delhi's stand on the Belt and Road project appeared to be wavering.

The reaction comes a day after Russia`s envoy to India who said that Beijing and New Delhi should resolve their differences on the project.

Asked about Russia's position on OBOR, Nikolay Kudashev had evaded a direct reply but had said Moscow was in favour of an understanding between the two neighbours.

Seeking to allay India`s fears, China said that the project, whose key artery goes through that part of Kashmir held by Pakistan, would not change Beijing`s "neutral" stand on the issue.

"You and your colleagues asked this question before and it shows that India is quite wavering on this issue of the Belt and Road initiative," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

"I think you must be very clear since the Belt and Road initiative was proposed by President Xi Jinping progress has been made smoothly with strong outcomes," he added, as per IANS.

Hua said China hopes "countries and parties with shared vision will work with us to allow practical cooperation to bring more benefits to our peoples".

China has an ambitious plan to connect Asia, Africa and Europe through a maze of roads and waterways.

India has opposed the Belt and Road, whose CPEC cuts through Pakistan-controlled Kashmir which New Delhi claims as its own.

In May this year, India had boycotted the two-day Belt and Road Forum, which was attended by leaders from 29 countries including Pakistan, due to sovereignty concerns over CPEC which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

In a strongly-worded statement issued hours before the opening of the forum in the Chinese capital, India had said that it had strong reservation over the CPEC as it undermines India's territorial integrity. 

China has been reiterating that the USD 50 billion CPEC is a connectivity project and will not affect its stand that the Kashmir issue should be resolved between India and Pakistan through talks.

(With Agency inputs)