THE statement issued by Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong to mark the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s historic visit to Pakistan in 2015 contains strong messages for people of Pakistan as well as for those trying to undermine the otherwise ‘rock solid’ relationship between the two iron brothers.
The envoy has vowed to accelerate the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future, expressing confidence that 2025 would be a crucial year for both nations – with China deepening reforms and Pakistan launching its “Uraan Pakistan” initiative – presenting an opportunity for deeper strategic alignment and South-South cooperation.
Regarding the multi-billion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor’s (CPEC) milestones, Jiang said Gwadar has transformed from a fishing village into a regional hub, while “the Orange Line Metro Train runs through the thousand-year-old metropolis of Lahore”.
The detailed statement by the Chinese Ambassador is, in fact, reiteration of his country’s resolve to continue extending cooperation to Pakistan in developing its economy and supporting its causes.
This is meaningful as Beijing has made a renewed pledge to foster ties with Pakistan at a time when an impression was being created that the bilateral cooperation between China and Pakistan has lost its original momentum due to internal and external factors.
In this backdrop, it is encouraging to note that the Ambassador, who has been making concerted efforts to foster and diversify the mutually beneficial relationship, has pointed out that President Xi Jinping held talks and meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and reached important consensus, “setting the direction and injecting strong impetus for China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperation under the new circumstances”.
The Ambassador further emphasised that China was willing to work with Pakistan to fully implement the consensus reached by the two countries’ high-level leaders and transform it into solid actions and rich outcomes of the mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation.
This means despite challenges, there is no going back from the cooperative path and the leadership of the two countries has charted out a fresh course to take their ties to new heights in view of the ground realities and regional and global developments.
More important is the resolve expressed by China to pursue the epoch-making China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The initiative is leaving deeper imprints on the socio-economic landscape of the country as $25.4 billion worth of direct investment brought with it 236,000 direct or indirect jobs, 510 kilometres of highways, 8,000 megawatts of electricity and 886 kilometres of core transmission to Pakistan.
It is also a reality that a number of Chinese companies have either already launched various ventures in different parts of Pakistan or they are willing to enter into joint ventures in different sectors.
Gwadar is at the centre of the CPEC-related activities and on completion of all infrastructure-related projects, it is destined to become a regional hub for trade and investment.
The two countries have also agreed on implementation of the second phase of the CPEC, which is aligned with the 5Es framework prepared by the Planning Ministry of Pakistan that envisages new economic corridors relating to job creation, innovation, green energy and inclusive regional development.
Similarly, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under the CPEC offer an opportunity for Pakistan’s transition from agricultural to industrial economy but regrettably the country is denied of the envisaged benefits because of the slow implementation.
This is a fit case for prompt and deeper attention by the high powered Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), which should remove hurdles in the way of creation of SEZs with the active cooperation of the provinces.
As for China, its commitment to the cause of progress and prosperity of Pakistani people is evident from the remarks of the Ambassador, who called for “solid steps while staying ambitious” to achieve the goal of shared prosperity through high-quality CPEC development.
