Experts highlight China’s role in global stability, economic development

ISLAMABAD, March 14 (Xinhua) — Pakistani experts are of the view that China’s opening-up policy and high-quality development have been playing a crucial role in promoting global economic stability and bolstering modernization, bringing socio-economic benefits to the world.

China’s high-quality development brought much-needed stability to a changing and turbulent world, and made new strides in building a community with a shared future for mankind, the experts said at the seminar organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI), an Islamabad-based think tank.

Speaking on the occasion, Sohail Mahmood, former foreign secretary of Pakistan and director general of the ISSI, said the world community, including Pakistan, not only supported China’s economic initiatives, but is also a determined partner in their advancement.

“Through initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, the world has witnessed China taking up a global role and assuming new global responsibilities,” Mahmood said.

He said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of the BRI, remained a cornerstone of the relationship between Pakistan and China, symbolizing mutual aspirations for economic prosperity and regional connectivity.

A drone photo taken on June 23, 2024 shows a view of Rashakai Special Economic Zone under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in Nowshera, Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)
Masood Khan, former Pakistani ambassador to China, said that China’s unprecedented growth, global rise and its role in promoting global economic cooperation through the BRI are exemplary.

He said the CPEC project would go beyond infrastructure to include people-to-people exchanges and social development, adding that the two countries needed to enhance strategic, economic and defense cooperation.

Talking about regional security, Khan emphasized Pakistan’s ongoing fight against terrorism and called for greater understanding and cooperation with China.

Manzoor Afridi, an associate professor on international relations at the International Islamic University, Islamabad, said that China’s historic progress, commitment to shared global responsibility, opposition to unilateralism, and commitment to promoting a stable, peaceful global order, are admirable.■