The Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, made a remarkable contribution to creation of Pakistan. This was said by the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China, Yang Yundong when he met a select gathering of the city’s elite at Quaid-e-Azam House Museum at a dialogue hosted by the Chairman Karachi Council of Foreign Relations and the Chairman Board of Management Quaid-e-Azam House Museum.
The dialogue was followed by a lively question and answer session.Chinese Envoy said, It’s my great pleasure to participate in this event organized by the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations. First of all, I would like to extend my special thanks to Nadira Panjwani and Sadeed A. Malik, for your warm invitation and thoughtful arrangements. I am also grateful for the presence of all the friends here.
Quaid-e-Azam House Museum is a building of profound historical significance, and just now, I had the opportunity to see some exhibited pictures that provided me with a deep understanding of the remarkable contributions made by the “Father of the Nation,” Jinnah, in the establishment of Pakistan.Coming to Pakistan, our brotherly and friendly country, as the 17th Consul General of China in Karachi, I feel greatly honored. Over the past three months, I have deeply felt the warmth and hospitality of the people of Pakistan.China and Pakistan are neighboring countries connected by mountains and rivers, relying on each other like lips and teeth.
The ancient Silk Road, over 2,000 years ago, tightly connected the peoples of both countries. On May 21, 1951, breaking through the barriers of ideology and the Cold War ‘Iron Curtain’, the two countries formally established diplomatic relations. CG, said that Pakistan was the first Muslim country to recognize the People’s Republic of China. In December 1956, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai made an official friendly visit to Pakistan, and in October of the same year, Pakistani Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy visited China.
The successful exchange of visits by the heads of governments within a year greatly promoted the development of friendly cooperation and people-to-people friendship between the two countries. From 1965 to 1971, Pakistan had consistently supported to restore New China’s lawful seat and all rights in the United Nations as a sponsoring country. In the 1970s and 1980s, frequent high-level visits between the leaders of China and Pakistan further strengthened our friendly cooperation.
In 1978, the Karakoram Highway, constructed with Chinese aid, was completed and opened, serving as the only economic lifeline for the northern region of Pakistan. Hundreds of Chinese engineers and technical personnel sacrificed their lives for its construction, earning it the name of “China-Pakistan Friendship Highway.”In the 1990s, as the world situation underwent significant changes, China-Pakistan relations stood the test of time and international upheavals and continued to develop.
Entering the 21st century, the brotherly ties between China and Pakistan have grown even stronger. When a powerful earthquake struck northern Pakistan in 2005, the Chinese government rapidly dispatched rescue and medical teams, provided $20.5 million in relief materials and cash aid, and also announced $300 million in concessional export buyer’s credit for the reconstruction of the affected areas. Similarly, when China was hit by the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, Pakistan stepped forward and donated all its tents to China’s earthquake-stricken areas.In 2013, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was launched, and in 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping successfully visited Pakistan, and both sides elevated the bilateral relations to an all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, opening a new chapter in our relationship. During the difficult times of China’s fight against pandemic, Pakistan extended its solidarity by donating all available relief materials to China, and speaking out against politicizing the pandemic or stigmatizing China. When Pakistan faced the pandemic, China’s government, military, localities, enterprises, and social organizations provided continuous support by supplying medical materials and vaccines, dispatching medical expert teams, and assisting in Pakistan’s efforts to combat the pandemic and resume economic development and recovery.
History and reality fully demonstrate that, over the past 72 years, under the strategic guidance of leaders from both nations, China-Pakistan relations have forged ahead, comprehensively developed through the joint efforts of the governments and peoples of both countries, and remained steadfast amidst the changing international landscape. It has formed an unbreakable ‘iron-clad’ friendship, which have not only become the precious strategic assets for both countries but also serve as an exemplary model of peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation between nations with different social systems and cultural backgrounds.
