NEW DELHI: China's state-backed media appears cautiously optimistic about the likelihood that Imran Khan will become Pakistan's new Prime Minister, but it has a warning for him: Beware of the Western media which will try to drive a wedge between Beijing and Islamabad.

Khan, who will most likely become Pakistan's new Prime Minister, hasn't always had good things to say about the $50-plus billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. He's been mostly worried about what he thinks is the lack of transparency and the possibility of widespread corruption at CPEC 's myriad projects.

China's Global Times said in an op-ed on Friday however that it sees the new Pakistani government continuing to promote CPEC, despite Western media "hyping Imran Khan's reservations about the project".

Which is why it has a word of caution for Khan, despite being confident the corridor's so-called 'early harvest' projects are completed on time.

"It's also foreseeable in the future that Western countries and media will continue to make an issue of the corridor and Chinese investment in Pakistan in an attempt to drive a wedge between China and Pakistan. The new Pakistani government should be particularly wise to this," said the article in the media outlet run by People's Daily, the mouthpiece of China's Communist Party.

Khan has indeed softened his tone on CPEC lately.

In an interview with a Chinese daily earlier this week, he said "the corridor project has brought about many positive changes to multiple areas of Pakistan's economy", reported Pakistan's Daily Times, quoting Khan's interview with Chinese language newspaper Guangming Daily, which was published on Monday.

The Global Times piece on Friday said that despite Pakistan's domestic political wrangling, the country's political circles have basically reached a consensus on support for the corridor.

Khan indicated as much when speaking to Guangming Daily about the "many positive changes" CPEC has brought to the country.

"The changes prove that the corridor has a positive effect on the development of Pakistan. I believe that the corridor construction in the medium and long term will be firmly guaranteed and will continue to be implemented," Khan said to the Chinese newspaper, according to Pakistan's Daily Times.

Speaking more about Khan's ascendancy, Global Times said China hopes the new PM can maintain political stability and not just for CPEC.

"This (stability) is not only because of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a mega project for regional connectivity, but also because maintaining stability in the surrounding areas and promoting regional cooperation for common development is an important goal of China's neighborhood policy," said Global Times.



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