happens to every country that went to bed with China. This fate of Pakistan was predictable. Srilanka got screwed and Pakistan too.
So called iron brother is conspicuously absent from any topic related to salvaging Pakistan from financial collapse.
Wonder if such dire terms would have been required had IMF thought moneys were redirected to pay guaranteed returns and interest payments to China on so called CPEC 'projects'
CPEC was sold as beneficial 3 ways to Pakistan - port traffic (Gwadar), road infra and electricty. After 10 years Gwadar is near empty and unable to self sutain. Pakistan has little to show on the electricity grid (in spite of demand being low due to little to no expansion of manufacturing and industry). I don't know about roads, may be they are there.
On the contrary China has benefited 3 ways.
- Guranteed interest payments on loans - In facts last several years loans from GCC and elsewhere were used to service Chinese payments
- Guranteed operational profits ! - yes, whether electricity was wasted or used, whether it was even generated or not, Chinese profits accrued
- Guaranteed project awards - project outlays that included hefty 'project cost margins' - I strongly suspect these were deducted upfront from so called 'chinese investments'
The tragedy is full terms of CPEC have not been made public.
But we see the results. I M F