ISLAMABAD: China is eager to support Pakistan in pursuing development goals and ready to expand cooperation in the area of governance.

This was stated by Nong Rong, Ambassador of China to Pakistan, at a dialogue on ‘Global development & governance’ themed on ‘Governance experience exchange between Pakistan and China’ which was organised by Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) and the Academy of Contemporary China and World (ACCWS).

The ambassador said China was eager to support Pakistan in pursuing its development model appropriate for the circumstances on the ground because the two countries were all-weather friends. Through CPEC, China is also eager to expand its exchanges in the area of governance such as lowering poverty levels and raising peoples’ standards of living.

He praised the Communist Party of China (CPC), whose initiatives have profoundly changed China.

He said the upcoming 20th congress of CPC would make plans for the future and set new objectives that would be accomplished by working together to benefit all peoples. China and Pakistan are strategic allies that have consistently stood by one another through tough times.

The dialogue was moderated by Mustafa Hyder Sayed, Executive Director PCI, and Lin Kun, Vice President ACCWS.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman of the Defence Committee of the Senate and PCI, extended congratulations to China on the 95th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) which was specially celebrated at the GHQ as a gesture of goodwill. He lauded the close cooperation between Pakistan Army and the PLA, including the comments by COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa that both armies are ‘brother in arms’.

Referring to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Asia and tentative plans for a journey to Taiwan, Senator Mushahid said this would be an unnecessary and unwarranted provocation, adding such a high level visit by an American official violate the One-China Policy agreed to by the United States and China in the Shanghai Communique.

He said such provocations had the potential to destabilise Asia and generate a new type of confrontation, something Asia cannot afford in these challenging times. Pakistan, he said, is firmly committed to the One-China Policy and preserving, promoting and protecting the strategic partnership with China.

He also discussed President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, which he termed the 21st century’s most important development and diplomatic initiative. He said that CPEC, the BRI’s flagship undertaking, was progressing admirably since it has modernised the nation’s infrastructure and raised the socioeconomic standing of its citizens.

He quoted two studies by the Harvard University. The first study, ‘Understanding CCP resilience: surveying Chinese public opinion through time, was published by the Ash Centre for Democratic Governance and Innovation of Harvard University in July 2020. The study found that there was very high satisfaction with the central government in China.

The second study by Graham Allison of Harvard University was titled “The great tech rivalry: China vs the US.”

The study shows that China has replaced the US as the world’s top high-tech manufacturer, producing 250 million computers, 25 million automobiles and 1.5 billion smartphones in 2020. Moreover, it says that beyond becoming a manufacturing powerhouse, China has become a serious competitor in the foundational technologies of the 21st century: artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, quantum information science (QIS), semiconductors, biotechnology, robotics and green energy.

Gao Anming, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of China International Communications Group (CICG), stressed deepening high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and actively promoting the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Global development is inseparable from connectivity and open cooperation.

The joint construction of the “Belt and Road” pursues development, advocates win-win results, and conveys hope. As a landmark project in the joint construction of the “Belt and Road,” the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a practical example of win-win cooperation between the two countries.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2022