A 15-member delegation from Pakistan including diplomats, senior academics, researchers and media persons, invited by Fudan University, Shanghai, funded by the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan visited China on a week-long trip from July 16 to July 23, 2023. The delegation was led by Ambassador Sohail Mahmood, Director General, Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI). The delegation participated in a seminar hosted by Pakistan Study Centre, Fudan University in Shanghai and the 3rd Pakistan-China Think Tank Forum hosted by the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) in Beijing. The author of this op-ed was also one of the delegates, who represented Balochistan in the delegation.
The visit remained exceedingly instructive and engrossing for various reasons. Visits to Zhangjiang Science City, Pioneer Area for Socialist Modernization, Shanghai Tower, Huangpu River and Great Wall of China enlightened the delegates regarding China’s history and its remarkable economic development and technological advancement. Travelling from Shanghai to Beijing by Bullet Train was an amazing experience and full of excitement and a learning journey. Dinner hosted by Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Moin-ul-Haque in Beijing was exceptional. The Ambassador gave us new insight into China’s modernization and Pak-China relations in the evolving regional geo-political landscape. Realistically speaking, whatever I studied about China’s soft power, culture and hospitality during my PhD dissertation truly was reflected in the trip.
The trip developed three main hypotheses in my mind. Having seen China’s economic development, innovative infrastructure, technological advancement and prosperity, I realized the US frustration in the shape of containing China is justifiable. Washington is fully cognizant of the fact that China is unstoppable. The US exceptionalism is being challenged for the first time by China. In the prevailing Washington’s political discourse, Beijing continues to be seen as the only game in town. China made history by initiating the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which is the largest project in mankind’s history, lifting 800 million people out of poverty is happening for the first time in the annals of international politics.
Notably, China negates Max Weber’s notion who believed for development and economic growth states would have to espouse the western model of development. China, being a non-western country, made more progress than western democratic countries. According to the US Geological Survey, China, from 2011 to 2013, used 6.5 gigatons of cement that’s more than the US used during the entire 20th Century. The aforementioned Chinese developments, by and large, are causing a great deal of consternation for the United States.
As far as my second hypothesis is concerned, Pakistanis have higher esteem and more respect in China than in Muslim countries including the West. During the trip when we were supposed to introduce ourselves to the common Chinese, they had to call us “Ba Tie” which means “Iron Brother”. Interestingly, describing Pakistan as its “Iron Brother” is a part of China’s political discourse. Thirdly, my sense says in the foreseeable future, Pakistanis would have more job opportunities in China than in the rest of the world as the Chinese are easily accessible to Pakistanis. Arguably, the Pakistanis elite are obsessed with the West, the middle class would certainly prefer China. Presently, more than 30,000 thousand Pakistanis have obtained Chinese scholarships, enjoying studying in China. Every great power exploits foreign talents. In order to get maximum dividends from the foreign talent, China presumably would grant nationality to the foreigners. Pakistanis would remain the biggest beneficiaries in this regard.
During the trip, the most amazing thing that dazzled me overwhelmingly was the Chinese commitment to their work. They consider work as worship avoiding indolence during duty hours. One would see almost the entire China would wake up at 7:00 am. Men/women will keep starting their work with great zeal and zest. Every individual in the country has an ambition to do something remarkable in life. It is amazing to note their thrifty lifestyle, even the CEO of the company would appear in ordinary attire. They prefer values, work ethics and hard work over a luxurious lifestyle resulting in making them the most successful nation in the 21st century.
It is pertinent to mention here that the per capita income of China in 1970 was USD150 while Pakistan’s per capita income remained at USD250. Presently, China’s per capita income is nearly USD12,732, while Pakistan is having merely USD1600 only. It is high time to get into introspection and ponder over the exacerbating economic condition of Pakistan and learn from the Chinese model. In short, the lessons I brought home from China’s visit are honesty with duty, a thrifty lifestyle, new ambitions in life, gender balance in the workforce and collective approach to social issues.
—The writer is a lecturer at the IR Department University of Balochistan, Quetta. And a former Research Associate, Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad.
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