CHINA, PAKISTAN TO LOOK AT INCLUDING AFGHANISTAN IN CPEC

China and Pakistan will look at extending their $57 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday, part of China's ambitious Belt and Road plan linking China with Asia, Europe and beyond. China has tried to position itself as a helpful party to promote talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan, both uneasy neighbors ever since Pakistan's independence in 1947. Speaking after the first trilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Wang said China hoped the economic corridor could benefit the whole region and act as an impetus for development. Afghanistan has an urgent need to develop and improve people's lives and hopes it can join inter-connectivity initiatives. China has pushed for Pakistan and Afghanistan to improve their own ties so they can better tackle the violence in their respective countries and has also tried to broker peace talks with Afghan Taliban militants, to limited effect. The Belt and Road infrastructure drive aims to build a modern-day “Silk Road '' connecting China to economies in Southeast and Central Asia by land and the Middle East and Europe by sea.