ISLAMABAD – China has once again assured Pakistan of its unwavering supportirrespective of any change in the international political landscape.
Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, currently on a three-day official visitto Pakistan, has expressed his government’s firm resolve to stand byPakistan in all odds, no matter what.
The message is loud and clear – to pursue the agenda of development andprosperity without taking into account international pressure, propagandaand challenges.
Vic President Wang Qishan is here to revive the spirit of ancient SilkRoute and materialize the vision of Chinese President Xi Jinping throughimplementation of development projects under China Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC).
“China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners and CPEC has come along way in further cementing this bond. The project will add new impetusto development in Pakistan besides furthering the regional development,”said Wang Qishan, who launched four mega CPEC projects on first day of hisvisit on Sunday.
The newly launched 2 Es and 2 Ts projects related to – Energy, Education,Trade and Technology – carry a blueprint of achieving the agenda ofsustainable prosperity.
In this connection, China has stepped in to help Pakistan meet its energyneeds by laying a transmission line of 660kv between Matiari and Lahore totransmit power from coal-based plants located at Thar, Port Qasim and Hub.The project will have a capacity to supply 2,000 MW with 10 percentoverloaded capability for two hours.
Also, the Rashakai Special Economic Zone (RSEZ) project, situated centrallyin the CPEC at the junction of Karakoram Corridor and ML-1 developmentcorridor, is aimed at promoting industrialization through optimally pricedand world-class infrastructure.
Thus, the RSEZ is set to become a key trade and logistics hub connectingKashgar, Kabul and Gwadar at the Belt and Road, and be a high-end host ofinternational commercial, technological and manufacturing hub.In the domain of education, the Confucius Institute at the University ofPunjab will teach Chinese language and promote cultural exchanges.
On technological front, the Huawei Technical Support Center to beestablished in Pakistan, is part of Chinese tech-giant’s commitment to makemassive investment in Pakistan.
For the burgeoning Pak-China relations, Foreign Minister Shah MehmoodQureshi gave credit to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s successive visits toChina, which he believed, had paved way for a stronger collaboration withthe government of China.
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“Our government has a special focus on poverty alleviation, industrialdevelopment, education, technology, scientific innovation and agriculturaldevelopment. Both China and Pakistan have a common agenda of improving theliving standard of their people,” he said.
Qureshi has high hopes of achieving the development target under CPEC asthe two countries move forward to mutually harnessing capabilities for thebetterment of their peoples.
“The CPEC has entered into its second phase which focuses on industrial,social and economic cooperation. I am confident that the special economiczones will open new avenues for the progress of Pakistan,” he said.
Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani was of the view that people-to-peoplerelations between Pakistan and China were equally important besides theirmutual journey of development.
“Strong people-to-people relations alongside the linkages andinfrastructure between the two countries are significant and will provebeneficial in the interest of the two nations,” he said.
As witnessed by VP Wang Qishan and Prime Minister Imran Khan, the twocountries also inked accords including framework agreement on agriculturalcooperation, the memorandum on foot and mouth disease-free zone; the letterof exchange on disaster relief goods, the agreement between the ChinaMachinery Engineering Corporation and the Balochistan government andLasbela University.
Deputy Chief of Mission Chinese embassy in Islamabad Lijian Zhao isconfident that the visit of Wang Qishan would help Pakistan and China tostrengthen their bilateral relations in terms of CPEC and itsimplementation.
“Besides infrastructure development, China is also promotingpeople-to-people exchanges including 100-member youth exchange programmeand encouraging Pakistani students in China to learn Chinese language for adeep-rooted connection,” he said.
May it the high-level visits or the people-to-people linkages, the story ofancient Silk Route will go a long way to be transformed into CPEC – a silkconnection beyond iron strength.
