Across Mountains and Seas, Building a Shared Future
Tang Meng sheng
Professor of Peking University, China. Director of the Center for Pakistan Studies, Peking University Seventy-five years of sharing weal and woe, seventy-five years of friendship as strong as steel. In 2026, as China and Pakistan mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the peoples of both countries are immersed in the joy of friendship and cooperation. Since the two countries formally established diplomatic ties on May 21, 1951, this friendship, spanning the Himalayas and crossing the Arabian Sea, has remained rock-solid and ever-renewed amid changes in the international landscape. Together, we have traversed an extraordinary journey of three-quarters of a century, witnessing the construction of the Karakoram Highway and the transformation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor from vision to reality; we have seen prompt action in disaster relief operations time and again, and firm mutual support in international affairs. Described as a relationship “higher than the mountains, deeper than the oceans, sweeter than honey, and stronger than steel”, this bilateral bond has gone far beyond ordinary state-to-state relations and stands as a model of enduring friendship, stable cooperation and mutual benefit between countries with different civilizations and social systems.
Overall, the driving role of CPEC is multi-layered and all-round. For Pakistan, it is not only timely assistance in addressing energy and transportation bottlenecks and improving the development environment, but also a long-term strategy to optimize the economic structure and strengthen endogenous growth momentum. For regional cooperation, CPEC has promoted connectivity between South Asia, Central Asia and western China, laying a solid foundation for regional economic integration and common prosperity. For China-Pakistan strategic alignment, the Corridor closely connects China’s Belt and Road Initiative with Pakistan’s Vision 2025, fully reflecting the high compatibility of their development strategies and deep integration of development interests.
China-Pakistan economic, trade and financial cooperation is moving steadily toward a more balanced, diversified and in-depth direction. While bilateral trade volume continues to grow, the trade structure is constantly optimized. In the early years, trade was mostly focused on traditional raw materials and primary products; today, the share of high-value-added, high-tech goods is gradually rising. More Chinese mechanical and electrical products and high-tech equipment are entering the Pakistani market, supporting Pakistan’s industrial upgrading; meanwhile, high-quality Pakistani agricultural products, textiles, leather goods and other specialty products are increasingly popular among Chinese consumers. This structural optimization not only reflects the complementarity of the two economies at different development stages, but also marks that economic integration is moving from quantitative accumulation to qualitative improvement.
In investment, the scope and depth of cooperation are equally remarkable. In addition to large-scale infrastructure and energy projects under the CPEC framework, direct investment and cooperation between enterprises of the two countries are increasingly active. Chinese enterprises are actively participating in Pakistan’s manufacturing, agriculture, information technology, financial services and other sectors, bringing not only capital and technology but also focusing on localized operations, creating a large number of local jobs and training technical and managerial personnel. At the same time, China welcomes Pakistani enterprises to invest in China and share the opportunities of China’s large market. This two-way investment boom is a vote of confidence from market forces in the prospects of bilateral cooperation, strengthening economic ties and integrating interests more closely.
Business-to-business conferences, sector-specific matchmaking meetings, and targeted investment roadshows have become an increasingly dynamic feature of Pakistan-China economic cooperation. In recent years, the two sides have promoted a series of focused initiatives designed to connect enterprises, encourage joint ventures, attract investment, facilitate technology transfer, and align Chinese industrial strengths with Pakistan’s priority sectors. These efforts have covered a wide range of fields, including agriculture, fisheries, medical and surgical equipment, home appliances, electrical equipment, battery energy storage, mining, steel, and animal husbandry. These endeavours signify shared commitment to further deepening economic, investment and trade ties between the two countries. The large-scale Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference held in Beijing in September 2025, together with follow-up sectoral conferences and roundtables in both China and Pakistan, demonstrated the growing institutionalization of this cooperation. Through these platforms hundreds of enterprises from both sides gather and generate new channels for long-term investment partnership. These initiatives have added a new momentum to economic ties.
Financial cooperation, as the “lifeblood” of economic and trade exchanges, provides solid support for bilateral relations. The currency swap agreements signed and renewed by the central banks of China and Pakistan facilitate the use of local currencies in bilateral trade and investment, helping reduce exchange rate risks and transaction costs and enhancing the stability of the financial system. Cooperation between financial institutions of the two sides is also strengthening, making cross-border financial services more convenient. Looking ahead, the two countries have broad cooperation space in emerging fields such as fintech, green finance and inclusive finance. Jointly exploring ways to better leverage financial instruments in supporting the growth of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting sustainable project financing, and facilitating digital payment connectivity will be a key focus for the next phase of China-Pakistan cooperation. These efforts will further unclog the “capillaries” of economic cooperation, enabling the benefits of cooperation to reach the two peoples more widely and equitably.
Pakistan-China cooperation in space science and technology has emerged as an important dimension of bilateral ties. In their joint statements, the two sides have underscored the importance of implementing the Space Cooperation Outline between the China National Space Administration and Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission to deepen collaboration in space research and technology. In recent years, this cooperation has gained further momentum, as reflected in practical engagement in space science and in the successful launch of Pakistan’s remote sensing satellite from Xichang, China, which marked another important achievement in bilateral space cooperation. A Pakistani astronaut is placed to join his Chinese colleagues at the China Space station later this year, marking a new chapter in Pakistan space cooperation.
The ultimate measure of successful international cooperation is whether it delivers tangible benefits to ordinary people. In the grand picture of China-Pakistan cooperation, projects focusing on people’s livelihood, are like warm and bright brushstrokes, depicting the most touching and brilliant chapters of friendship between the two peoples. Development is for the people, by the people, and its fruits are shared by the people. Therefore, China-Pakistan cooperation has always been people-centered, committed to translating development dividends into visible and tangible gains and happiness for the people.
—To be continued
