China says willing to help Pakistan over fiscal crisis

BEIJING – Close ally China says it is willing to offer assistance to Pakistan to help it weather its current fiscal crisis but that terms of such aid are still being discussed.

The announcement by Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou follows a meeting Saturday in Beijing between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Pakistan’s newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Kong offered no information on the specific amount of aid China is willing to offer but says the sides made Beijing’s support “clear in principle.”

Pakistan’s growing fiscal crisis has raised questions about its ability to repay Chinese loans granted as part of Beiing’s “Belt and Road” infrastructure initiative.

China has pledged more than $60 billion to Pakistan in the form of loans and investments for roads, ports, power plants and industrial parks.