Pakistan-China share same stance on all international issues: Masud Ahmad Khan

Pakistan was the first Muslim country, and third non-communist country, to establish diplomatic relations with China. The resolution of China’s admission to UN was moved by Pakistan. The Bandung conference in 1955 provided the opportunity to the leaders of the two countries to interact. In 1956, the then Prime Minister Suhrawardy visited China in October and the Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai visited Pakistan in December. Even Pakistan international Airline (PIA) was first international carrier to link China to the outside world.

Pakistan played an important role in bringing China and the US closer, which led to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. It was from Pakistan that Henry Kissinger took off secretly for Beijing and he recognised and praised Pakistan’s role in promoting ties between the two countries. During the 1962 war with India, Pakistan condemned India as an aggressor and that helped to grow closer to China.

The boundary between China and Pakistan was demarcated in 1962 and an agreement was signed on March 2, 1963, at Beijing by Bhutto and his Chinese counterpart, Chen Yi. China ceded 750 square miles of territory to Pakistan, contrary to false claims that Pakistan ceded territory to China. Bhutto said, “The facts are that Pakistan has not ceded even one square inch of territory to China. It has gained 750 square miles of territory which had been in China’s control”. According to late Abdul Sattar Khan, who served as Foreign Secretary, “Pakistan must remember with gratitude an extraordinary gesture by Premier Zhou Enlai.”

The China-Pakistan boundary agreement was a historic event to settle territorial dispute between the two countries. China supported Pakistan during the 1965 and 1971 wars. Pakistan supported China’s claim over Hong Kong and the enactment of the law to safe guarding national security in the region. Over the years, cooperation between the two countries had has flourished. China assisted Pakistan in setting up the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Heavy Industries Taxila, Pakistan Ordinance Factories and also supported in the establishment of the Guddu Thermal Power Plant and Chashma Nuclear Power Plant. The military cooperation between the two countries has strengthened further over a period of time.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that passes through Pakistan. The 64 billion project includes the construction of roads, railways and hydro power plants. It will link Pakistan’s sea port in Gwadar to the Xinjiang province in China. CPEC will also provide China a much shorter route for its trade with the Middle East and Africa. President Xi Jingping, during his first visit to Pakistan in 2015, said “I feel I am going to visit the home of my own brother”.

The west is afraid of China’s growing economy and therefore, wants to contain it as much as possible. Recently, the construction of the Diamer Bhasha Dam—worth 442 billion—is a joint venture signed between China Power and FWO. The dam will go a long way for economic development and will socially uplift the country after its completion in 2028. The relations between the two countries are based on solid friendship dating back to the era of the ancient Silk Route.

Pakistan and China hold the same stance on almost all major international issues. Relations between the two countries would continue to flourish as the Pak-China friendship enjoys the support of their masses. Pakistan was the first country to receive donations of half a million Chinese Covid-19 vaccines. Earlier, China also provided medical gear and equipment to fight against the outbreak of Covid-19. At the 69th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between China and Pakistan, China said our relations with Pakistan are ‘firm as a rock’. Pakistan and China’s relationship has been referred to by the Chinese President Xi Jingping as ‘higher than the mountains, deeper than the oceans and sweater than honey”. Prime Minister Imran Khan has made it clear that our future is tied with China which has stood by us through thick and thin.