BEIJING : China and Pakistan will work together to develop ShanghaiCooperation Organization (SCO), as a driving force to promote peace andstability in South Asia, it was officially stated here on Wednesday.
Under the SCO framework, Beijing and Islamabad have conducted smoothcoordination and will spare no effort in forging the organization into aplatform for the maintenance of stability. The SCO will be made as a symbolof peace and stability in South Asia.
We hope India and other countries can view China-Pakistani cooperation withobjectivity and make concerted efforts for common development, officialsaid while commenting on Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif’svisit to Beijing in connection with the forthcoming SCO’s summit.
The Minister met Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Chinese counterpartWang Yi on the sidelines of the meeting of Shanghai CooperationOrganization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers in Beijing this week.
The two countries vowed to enhance bilateral cooperation and work forregional peace and stability through the SCO.
The council is the first top ministerial-level meeting of the SCO after theadmission of Pakistan and India as members last year, and Sino-Pakistanicollaboration on the SCO platform has attracted attention.
Some believe that Beijing-Islamabad cooperation is a strategic choice inthe interests of the two countries. There are also people who hold the viewthat the Sino-Pakistani partnership may threaten India’s development.
According to the officials, the Sino-Pakistani all-weather strategiccooperative partnership is an example of a new type of internationalrelations.
This cooperation has transcended the level of self-interest and is playinga vital role in maintaining regional stability.
For instance, China’s Belt and Road initiative, apart from aiding regionalconnectivity, has boosted Pakistan’s economic growth and provided thecountry with unprecedented impetus for development.
This has created a new pilot model for regional cooperation and will exerttremendously positive effects on South Asia’s societal and economicdevelopment.
Both Beijing and Islamabad have reiterated that their bilateral cooperationdoesn’t target any third party.
But still voices suspicious of China’s rise and its partnership withPakistan on the SCO platform are often heard. The SCO was established forcommon development.
We hope New Delhi, as a major power in the region, can realize thesignificance of cooperation, abandon its stereotyped view of Sino-Pakistanipartnership and correctly view the purpose of the Belt and Road initiative.
By doing so, it will open a new chapter in South Asia’s development. Afterall, the significance of India’s SCO participation lies in its endeavorsfor common development.
But if the Indian government regards the SCO as merely a lever to balanceChina and Pakistan, it will lose an important platform for cooperation andgrowth.
Founded 17 years ago, the SCO has achieved much in security throughagreements such as the 2001 Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism,Separatism and Extremism.