On May 21, 1951, the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic ofPakistan entered into formal diplomatic relations. In the seven decadesever since, the two countries have stood together, rain or shine, and builtan exceptional, ironclad friendship. This friendship has become a strategicasset, most dearly cherished by both sides.
China-Pakistan friendship has a time-honored history. As late ChinesePremier Zhou Enlai said friendly exchanges between the Chinese andPakistanis can be traced as far back as the dawn of history. Over 2,000years ago, China and Pakistan were already connected by the ancient SilkRoad, when our peoples visited each other amid echoes of camel bells. Inthe extended course of history thereafter, the friendship has steadilygrown stronger and deeper.
China-Pakistan friendship enjoys a solid foundation. We always support eachother on our respective core interests and major concerns. Even at criticaltimes, be it when New China endeavoured to break external blockade and makediplomatic opening, or when Pakistan stood up to crises to defend nationaldignity, we have always been there for each other, and have become truefriends in need.
China-Pakistan friendship has deep roots among the two peoples. In times ofhardship, one always extends a helping hand to the other as early aspossible. Such mutual support and assistance have no strings attached, andare pure acts of goodwill and friendship. When the great earthquake hitWenchuan of China in 2008, Pakistan donated all its tents in reserve. WhenPakistan suffered devastating floods in 2010, China launched the largesthumanitarian operation in its history to help Pakistan from land and air.
Since the turn of the century, the China-Pakistan relationship has growneven stronger, and cooperation has been upgraded across the board. In 2015,President Xi Jinping made a historic state visit to Pakistan. Leaders ofthe two countries agreed to elevate the relationship to an all-weatherstrategic cooperative partnership. This has opened up a new chapter offriendly interactions.
Practical cooperation is fruitful. We have put in place a “1+4” cooperationstructure that centers on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) andprioritises the Gwadar Port, transportation infrastructure, energy andindustrial cooperation. Under CPEC, 70 early-harvest projects have beenidentified, among which 46 have been launched or completed. A total of$25.4 billion has been invested, creating 70,000 jobs for Pakistan. CPEC,as a signature project under the Belt and Road Initiative, has served as afine example as China and other Islamic countries work to synergize theirdevelopment strategies.
People-to-people exchanges are booming. We hold culture months, film weeks,tourism years and national promotion activities. Exchanges and cooperationare moving ahead in media, think-tank, academia, education, culture andsports. In the Year of China-Pakistan Friendly Exchanges in 2015, we held aseries of cultural exchange events that took our friendship to a new high.Recent years have witnessed the highly popular 100-member youth groupsexchange programme under the vision for a lasting friendship, enabling moreand more Pakistani students to study in China. The ever-growing force forChina-Pakistan friendship has been the firmest basis for our bilateralrelations.
Cooperation on multilateral occasions is close. We both observe thepurposes and principles of the UN Charter, and have common values ofadvocating multilateralism over unilateralism, free trade overprotectionism, and win-win over hegemony. We are both committed toupholding the existing international order and the UN-centred internationalsystem. And we both believe in peaceful settlement of internationaldisputes through consultations and negotiations. China and Pakistancoordinate and collaborate closely in the UN, the Shanghai CooperationOrganization, the Asia-Europe Meeting, the ASEAN Regional Forum, and otherregional and international mechanisms.
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Our friendship has withstood the test of the sudden onslaught of Covid-19,and has emerged even stronger. At the toughest moment of China’s battleagainst the coronavirus, Pakistan did all it could to provide China withdonations. Pakistanis from all social sectors expressed unanimous supportfor China’s Covid response, and opposed the attempt to politicise the virusand stigmatise China. When Covid cases surged in Pakistan, China’sgovernment, military, businesses and social organisations all pitched in tohelp. China provided successive batches of medical supplies, sent medicalteams, and intensified experience sharing and technological exchanges. Inaddition, our two countries established a joint response mechanism toensure that all CPEC projects proceed uninterrupted, with no jobs cut andno staffs withdrawn. This set an example of effective transnationalresponse to Covid-19.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China. Thecountry will embark on a new journey toward a modernised socialist countryand realising the second centenary goal. Pakistan is advancing economic andsocial development in full speed and improving social welfare to turn intoreality the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan for Naya Pakistan. As anall-weather strategic cooperative partner, China always gives priority toits cooperation with Pakistan in its overall external cooperation. We willcontinue to firmly support Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty,independence and territorial integrity; in deepening reform and openingwider and raising self-reliance ability; in enhancing political unity,national security and social stability; and in playing a bigger andconstructive role in international and regional affairs.
In a world of drastic changes unseen in a century, deepening China-Pakistanstrategic cooperation is the natural option. No matter how the regional andinternational landscapes may evolve, and what challenges and risks mayarise, China will continue to work with Pakistan to advance cooperation inall areas, cement our ironclad friendship, and build an even closercommunity with a shared future in the new era.
During this year, China and Pakistan will inaugurate grand and warmcelebrations to honour the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations,including high-level visits, business exchanges and cultural activities. Ihope that people from all walks of life of both countries, especially theyounger generation, will take an active part in renewing the ironcladfriendship to push forward our all-weather strategic cooperativepartnership. I am confident that our joint efforts will usher in an evenbrighter future of China-Pakistan relations.
The writer is State Councilor and Foreign Minister of the People’s Republicof Chinalink