PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with Chinese President was one of the highlights of the most recently held SCO summit during which Xi pledged support for Pakistan’s domestic capacity for comprehensive development, showing readiness to build China-Pakistan Economic Corridor 2.0 and upgrade the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement and step up cooperation in industries, agriculture and mining sectors.
Thus it covered all aspects of a sustainable economic relationship having great promise of productivity, positivity and participation gearing its economy towards greater prosperity and progress in the days to come.
On his part the PM expressed gratitude to Chinese leadership and thanked them for its ‘unflinching support to Pakistan’s territorial integrity, sovereignty’ and hoped that the strong ties would add to the progress and prosperity of the region. Additionally, the PM Office also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the iron-clad and all-weather strategic cooperative partnership through enhanced cooperation, reflecting their unique bilateral relationship. During the bilateral meeting, the bilateral ties and cooperation were thoroughly discussed in a meeting between PM Shehbaz and Chinese President Xi at the Great Hall of the People, wherein they agreed that the relationship between both countries was unique and unparalleled, which should be reflected in their enhanced cooperation.
Moreover, PM Shehbaz appreciated “China’s continued support to Pakistan’s socio-economic development as well as the significance of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as a flagship project of President Xi’s BRI to help both countries to build an even stronger Pakistan-China community with a shared future. Interestingly, President Xi acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism and hoped effective measures would be taken to ensure the safety and security of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan, to create a secure environment for bilateral cooperation”. Hence safety and security of the Chinese, CPEC projects and Chinese investment must be protected through coordinated security mechanisms at gross-root levels.
During his trip to China, Prime Minister Shehbaz also met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and reaffirmed to work together on the CPEC 2.0 and dubbed it “most productive” as business firms inked 21 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on science and technology, IT, media, agriculture, etc. The Prime Minister also stressed the need for early implementation of the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project, the Karakoram Highway realignment and operationalisation of the Gwadar Port. It is a good omen that both leaders agreed on advancing cooperation in information technology, agriculture, minerals, textiles and industry. Thus both leaders expressed their satisfaction at the positive trajectory of Pak-China relations. So, the signing of the Joint Action Plan 2024-2029 was deemed as an important step in this regard.
PM Shehbaz also shared Pakistan’s intent to float Panda Bonds, a type of debt security issued by foreign entities denominated in Chinese Yuan (RMB), in the Chinese capital market soon. He stressed the vast potential for B2B cooperation and investment, identifying agriculture, mines and minerals, textile, industrial sector and IT as priority areas for mutually beneficial economic collaboration. PM Shehbaz reiterated Pakistan’s support for President Xi’s landmark initiatives to strengthen multilateralism, including the Global Governance Initiative, Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.
PM Shehbaz later met Chinese Minister for Information Technology and Industry Li Lecheng and reiterated Pakistan’s vision of deepening bilateral cooperation with China in industries, agriculture, trade, ICT, mining and minerals and explored diversified cooperation. On his part, the Chinese Minister Li admired the government’s economic reform agenda and emphasized that China regarded Pakistan as an ironclad brother and All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partner. He expressed China’s firm resolve to elevate bilateral relations to “new heights of cooperation and collaboration”. He emphasized that industrial cooperation was the cornerstone of Pakistan-China economic cooperation and a defining pillar of CPEC’s development in its second phase.
In summary, expected involvement of the Chinese private companies to make investments in Pakistan should be further streamlined and systematized by guaranteeing their safety and security. Relocation of qualitative industries into special economic zones would be mutually beneficial for both the countries providing a unique comparative advantage with a large pool of skilled and cost-effective labour, competitive input costs and strategic connectivity to regional and global markets. Thus security of Chinese brothers and sisters in Pakistan is paramount for all of us. The writer suggests that both countries should further focus on further enhancing B2B investment, agriculture, trade, IT, mines and minerals and the establishment of SEZs as the main pillars of the CPEC 2.0.
There is an urgent need to further diversify bilateral cooperation in the fields of hybrid agriculture, disaster management, water conservation, green transformation, flood management and science & space cooperation. Moreover, cooperation in digitalization, qualitative industrialization, artificial intelligence, technical education and production of quality seeds, agricultural inputs, fertilizers, drone technology, high-efficiency irrigation systems and modern farm machinery should also be further strengthened. The writer submits that all stakeholders of Pakistan should sit together and think beyond cosmetic statements and jointly work for the safety and security of the Chinese nationals and the CPEC projects in the country through various means.
So intelligence sharing, drone surveillance at borders of Afghanistan and Iran, police’s anti-terrorism training, electronic gadgets for combating terrorism, start of analyzing socio-economic-ethnic parameters of terrorism pockets and last but not least, installation of humanoid warriors and AI soldiering would be the right policy in the right direction. Geopolitically and geo-strategically Pakistan-China-Afghanistan Trilateral Security Dialogue should be further strengthened for the betterment of all. Removal of all irritants in all the ministries in terms of approval, disbursement, implementation and completion of the Chinese investment and projects should be a strategic priority for the Government of Pakistan.
—The writer is President, the Centre for Knowledge and Public Policy, Regional Expert: China, CPEC, BRI & World Affairs.
