Revisiting Pak-China relationship
THE Pakistan-China relationship has a unique history of exceptional cooperation and coordination with numerous converging interests.
The four-day visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to China is being viewed as a significant step towards furtherance of this traditional relationship.
Although, the visit is being carried out in connection with Winter Olympics-2022.Nevertheless, there are many economic and strategic aspects which have been debated between the leadership of both countries.
China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one such aspect which came under discussion with a view to complete it well within the already agreed time limits.
According to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the visit of Pakistani delegation to China has two objectives; one, expressing a sense of solidarity with China since US and European Union has boycotted the Winter Olympics-2022 and two, furtherance in the economic cooperation between Pakistan and China.
There are prospects that, Pakistan will negotiate a loan of $3 billion from China to support its falling economy.
Besides, Pakistan is looking forward for the Chinese investment and cooperation in several sectors like; textiles, footwear, pharmaceuticals, furniture, agriculture, automobile and information technology.
In this regard, 75 Chinese companies are being facilitated for investment in Pakistan and their access for trade routes to the Middle East, Africa
Other aspects include opportunities for more Chinese investment in Pakistan.In the same context, Prime Minister of Pakistan was being accompanied by some key ministers of his cabinet during the visit.
Earlier in October 2019, President Xi Jinping avowed during his meeting with PM Imran Khan that, “China is ready to work with Pakistan to forge a closer China-Pakistan ‘community of shared future’ in the new era”.
Pakistan and China have already completed seven decades of harmonious relationship, ever since both commenced this journey soon after People’s Republic of China came into being in October 1949.
There are very solid foundations of this harmonious Pak-China relationship, focusing on all aspects; political, economic and strategic.
Based on this strong and ever green relationship President Xi Jinping stated in 2019 that, the friendship between Pakistan and China is “unbreakable and rock solid”.
This highly farsighted and well-conceived concept of China-Pakistan ‘community of shared future’ in the most challenging time has lot of prospects in the bilateral relationship of both countries.
An insight analysis of this concept would reveal that, the last seven decades of Pakistan-China relations were centred on formal and official linkages between Islamabad and Beijing.
With the advent of a new era where globalization has become the order of the day, this formal state to state relationship must take the people on board.
Indeed, the people to people relationship has been a grey area in the last seven decades of Pak-China all weather friendship.
There has been increase in the people to people contact and collaboration between business and academic community of both countries.
In real terms, this is a new framework of China, for the promotion of international relations and improvement of global governance.
Since Chinese model of good governance and international relations has been a success story, therefore extension of this model to Pakistan for forging a closer China-Pakistan ‘community of shared future’ is most desired under the changing geopolitical environment.
Indeed, there is dire need that, harmonious relationship between Pakistan and China must spread over to the communities, the societies and the wider academic circles of both friendly states.
In order to accrue the real benefits of these relationship Pak-China communities with common interests and societies with harmonious future will have to collaborate, cooperate and progress together in the coming years.
After the episode of Ladakh where after a brief clash between Chinese and Indian militaries in 2020/21, China captured huge territory of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir (from Indian occupation), a hope was created that, China will play a role towards permanent solution of Kashmir dispute.
In this regard, there is a need that, Pakistan and China cooperate and resolve the Kashmir dispute, since China is party to this dispute having over 9000 square kilometres of Aksai Chin.
China had great concerns about Kashmir, once India illegally annexed the occupied part of Jammu and Kashmir as union territories.
For a long-term peace in the South Asia, there is a need that China should take into confidence the other four members of UN Security Council for the resolution of long-standing Kashmir dispute.
Such an act will further raise the status of China regionally as well as globally with a support from Pakistan and all deprived nations of the world.
Kashmir is an issue of common concern both for Pakistan and China.Therefore, Beijing considers “that the Kashmir issue is a dispute left from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements.
” The four-day visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to China is indeed, a reiteration that, China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners.
“No matter how the international and regional situation changes, the friendship between China and Pakistan has always been unbreakable and rock-solid, and China-Pakistan cooperation has always maintained strong vitality.
” This visit will strengthen the traditional and all-weather strategic cooperation between the two countries.
— The writer is Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
