AFTER Pak-China Joint Action Plan (PCJAC) 2025-2029 comes into effect in the backdrop of fresh high-level consensus between President Xi and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the conclusion of SCO summit 2025, Pak-China bond has shifted into top gear prioritizing 4-year all-embracing targets to underpin diverse faces of developments and prosperities for both nations.
A plethora of multi-dimensional mutual goals envisioned in PCJAP are overarching and pragmatic helping both brethren neighbouring countries to consolidate journey of growth and friendship from China Pakistan All-Weather Cooperative Strategic partnership to China-Pakistan community with shared destiny in new era.
Pak-China Joint Action Plan (PCJAC) 2025-2029 comprising tangible features including exchanges and cooperation in the political field, practical belt and road cooperation, economic, trade and financial cooperation, cooperation in science, technology and human resources, security and defence cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and cooperation and multilateral coordination and cooperation. During the past 74 years since the establishment of China-Pakistan diplomatic ties, no matter how the international situation may change, the two sides have always stood side by side in weal and woe.
China-Pakistan convivial relations are on the roll and are perpetually catching the limelight since the world has entered a period of cascading turbulence and transformation. Both carry forward the tradition of mutual trust, mutual assistance and cooperation and execute more extensive and in-depth strategic collaborations in a befitting manner. It is good omen that not only China firmly supports Pakistan in safeguarding national independence, sovereignty, dignity and fighting terrorism but also has unleashed fresh strives to push forward the in-depth development of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) 2.0 with tenacious assurance to implement key projects.
China has also given full play of its resilience and unflinching efforts to work with Pakistan to expand cooperation in the fields such as science and technology, agriculture and people’s wellbeing, build a green, healthy and digital corridor and support Pakistan’s industrialization to enhance its sustainable development capability. Pak-China Joint Action Plan (PCJAC) 2025-2029 has laid down profuse fortunes for Pakistan. Given the PCJAC framework, China is willing to buttress more coordination and cooperation with Pakistan on multilateral platforms including the United Nations, to safeguard world and regional peace and stability and actively translate the Global Development Initiative into concrete actions.
China-Pakistan friendship is a pacesetter for amicable relations between countries. The Pakistani people say that China-Pakistan friendship is higher than the mountain, deeper than the sea and sweeter than honey. And we Chinese fondly refer to the Pakistani people as our good friends, good neighbors, good partners and good brothers. Within the spirit of Pak-China Joint Action Plan (PCJAC) 2025-2029, both countries are believed to inject new momentum in relations in line with Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative as well as newly proposed Global Governance Initiative.
Over 2,000 years ago, the Silk Road became a bridge of friendship linking our two ancient civilizations. Zhang Qian, China’s emissary in the Han Dynasty, Faxian, the master monk in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Xuan Zang, the great monk in the Tang Dynasty visited Pakistan. Our two countries share similar cultural traditions and values. The Pakistanis believe that good faith is more precious than wealth. And we Chinese believe that a person cannot do without credibility. In recent history, both China and Pakistan suffered from imperialist and colonialist aggression and oppression and we extended mutual sympathy and support to each other.
Back in the 1930s, the great Pakistani poet Muhammad Iqbal wrote that the Chinese people are waking up from their sleep and the spring of Mount Himalaya is bursting. Those lines saluted and voiced support to the Chinese people in their struggle for independence and fight against foreign aggression. Similar historical sufferings and the common struggle have brought our hearts and minds together. The initiative of building a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (the Belt and Road Initiative) that China has launched is a significant move to fully open up itself under the new conditions.
This initiative also reflects China’s commitment to sharing development opportunities and outcomes with more countries. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is flagship project of BRI. Since the start of CPEC till date under first phase, Pakistan has enjoyed numerous benefits. Among them are addition of 8000 MW electricity in national grid, construction of more than 780 km roads’ network, laying down of more than 850 power transmission lines and creating of approximately 800,000 direct and indirect jobs. As second phase of CPEC is formally launched, expectations are high that CPEC 2.0 will pick the pace forthwith, fine-tune development strategies, streamline the coordination and manage to fix the procedural, executional and operational issues without any delay of time.
Meanwhile all eyes are on CPEC implementation formula that will help both sides to pursue a strategic roadmap to deepen the alignment of CPEC’s Five Corridors with URAAN Pakistan Program centered on the 5Es framework of Exports, E-Pakistan, Environment and climate change, Energy and infrastructure, Equity, Ethics and Empowerment, as well as China’s eight major steps for supporting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. On educational cooperation landscape, it is encouraging that during the past ten years, Pakistan has ranked among the top three countries in terms of total students studying in China and recipients of Chinese scholarships.
Many Chinese universities have established Urdu language programs and the two sides have formed a 130-member CPEC Consortium of Universities. Today, learning Chinese, enjoying Chinese cuisine and celebrating the Spring Festival are becoming popular trends in Pakistan. Outstanding Chinese TV series and films are household names in Pakistan.
—The writer is President of Institute of International Relations and Media Research.
