BEIJING – Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ongoing first official visit to Chinahas set the tone for deepening of China-Pakistan cooperation in the nextfive years.
China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. Suchties stem from their long-term support to each other and closecollaboration, which has been whole-heartedly upheld by people of the twocountries, according to an article published by Global Times on Sunday.
In July this year, Imran Khan defeated Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) andPakistan People’s Party (PPP) to become the country’s new prime minister,ending three decades of political dominance by these two politicaldynasties.Many people in Pakistan believe that Imran Khan is a reformist. “Justice”and “anti-corruption,” his primary slogans during the campaign, haveattracted a large number of supporters, especially among the youth in thecountry.In his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Imran Khan said he hadcome to learn from China’s experience in combating poverty and corruption.
The two nations signed a dozen of agreements and documents to furthercooperation. Imran Khan is also a guest of honor at the ongoing ChinaInternational Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is currently the largest jointproject between the two countries. The construction of CPEC has met withconsensus across the political spectrum of Pakistan.
Amid Pakistan’s economic challenges, the construction of the corridor canhelp Islamabad attract more foreign investment. CPEC has already made greatachievements in infrastructure and energy development.
In the future, it will shift its focus to industrial cooperation andimprovement of people’s livelihood, boosting collaboration in agriculture,fisheries and advanced technology industries, so as to make morecontributions to Pakistan’s economic development, employment and povertyalleviation.
The Western media blamed the CPEC for Pakistan’s external debt andliabilities. But the truth is that foreign debt, weak governance and taxevasion have always been a major problem with Pakistan’s economicdevelopment.A large number of wealthy people have been transferring wealth to othercountries.Reforms are urgently needed and China is willing to help as much as it can.
The China International Import Expo (CIIE) is also an ideal platform topromote China-Pakistan economic and trade cooperation.