Zubair Qureshi
Islamabad
The outgoing ambassador of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Yao Jing on Friday regarded his 3-year term as ambassador to Pakistan a memorable period of his life. He said it was indeed a noble mission to serve in the Pakistan as Ambassador of China.
“China-Pakistan relations have a history spanning over 7 decades of friendship and keeping that momentum of friendship and camaraderie alive was something I would always cherish,” said the ambassador at a farewell dinner the Embassy of China hosted for media persons.
This happened to be the ambassador’s last formal ‘meet the press’ as he is leaving on Sept 24 to report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China for his next assignment.
In his departing message to the people of Pakistan, the Chinese ambassador said Pakistan was embarking on a journey of progress and prosperity and China had complete trust in this emerging economic power of Asia.
I joined the Chinese Embassy in Nov 2017 and now almost after three years I am leaving with a sense of fulfillment for having done my job appropriately, said he.
In total, the ambassador has served for almost 11 years in Pakistan, earlier on junior position and also as Deputy Head of the Mission.
I have travelled far and wide of Pakistan, enjoyed myself the beaches of Karachi and Quetta, historical points of Lahore and Peshawar and scenic paradise of Gilgit Baltistan and the northern areas of Pakistan. This has been a tremendous journey of my life being in Pakistan, said the ambassador paying rich tributes to the people of Pakistan for their hospitality and friendship.
The ambassador mentioned a number of achievements in the Pak-China relations during his tenures as he laid special focus on promoting economic diplomacy and ensuring smooth working of CPEC.
He mentioned the splendid progress made during his stay in Pakistan, particularly the launching of the 2nd phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and signing of 2nd phase of China, Pakistan Free Trade agreement.
He also paid tributes to his team and staff of the Chinese embassy who made untiring efforts for timely availability of Chinese support to Pakistan during Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.
Yao Jing also reiterated China’s unflinching support to Pakistan on Kashmir issue saying Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir is justified.
He expressed his confidence that the Sino-Pak relations will keep growing and the CPEC’s projects will greatly contribute to the well-being of the people and media would play the role of frontline soldier against all malicious propaganda against CPEC.
The Sino-Pak relations are not limited to CPEC, but their spectrum is quite wide, covering all areas of bilateral interests, he said adding the leadership of the two countries is committed to deepen their decades’ old partnership, he added.
In the Q & A session that followed, Yao Jing while replying to a question on ‘postponement’ of President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan said the Chinese president’s visit is still the top agenda of the Chinese government and it was delayed only because of Covid-19.
Nong Rong, Head of Ethnic Affairs Commission of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has been nominated as the new envoy of China in Pakistan.
Ambassador Yao Jing also paid rich tributes to the Pakistan forces in war against terrorism and welcomed reconciliation process in Afghanistan. It will bring stability in the region, said the ambassador.
