Daily Times

Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong has stressed the need to look at reality, trends and prospects, and strengthen confidence in practical cooperation between Pakistan and China, especially the CPEC construction.

Addressing the awarding ceremony for outstanding Pakistani staff of the CPEC, the ambassador said overall the confidence in Pakistan’s macro economy continues to grow, while some companies express their concerns about the security environment. “My personal opinion is that we must pay full attention to and work hard to solve the problems encountered in our cooperation. The process of solving problems itself is a process of deepening understanding and promoting development,” he said. “At the same time, we must look at reality, trends and prospects, and strengthen our confidence in practical cooperation between the two countries, especially the CPEC construction.”

“First, we have favorable opportunities for the development of our two countries. The IMF predicts that the global economic growth rate this year will be 3.2%, including 1.8% for developed economies and 4.2% for emerging market and developing economies. In the first three quarters of this year, China’s GDP grew by 4.8% year-on-year. Not only did the growth rate rank among the top, but its quality also steadily improved. Investment in high-tech industries increased by 10% year-on-year. New energy vehicle production increased by 33.8% and an annual output of 10 million vehicles was achieved. China’s global innovation index ranking jumped to the 11th. As President Xi Jinping pointed out, after more than 40 years of sustained and rapid development, China’s economy has entered a stage of high-quality development, and its contribution to world economic growth has remained at around 30%. China is fully confident that this year’s economic growth target will be achieved and will continue to play the role of the largest growth engine of world economy, providing more new opportunities for the development of countries around the world. We are also pleased to see that Pakistan’s GDP of this fiscal year has turned from negative to a growth of 2.4%. In the first four months, foreign investment and goods exports increased by 32.3% and 13.5% respectively year-on-year. In November, the CPI hit a 46-month low, and foreign exchange reserves hit a two-year high. The continued recovery of the economies of the two countries has created new opportunities and injected new impetus into our promotion of practical cooperation, especially the CPEC construction,” he said.

“Second, we have high-level strategic guidance from the two countries. The CPEC has always received direct attention and strong promotion from the leaders of the two countries. In June this year, when President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Shahbaz in China, he said that China is ready to promote the integration of high-quality joint construction of the “Belt and Road” with Pakistan’s development plans, and focus on building an “upgraded version” of the CPEC, and jointly build the “Five Corridor” of growth, people’s livelihood, innovation, green and openness. The important instructions and consensus of the leaders of the two countries have provided us with fundamental guidance and enhanced confidence in promoting high-quality joint construction of the CPEC,” he said.

“Third, we have a solid foundation for cooperation between the two countries. The CPEC is an important pilot project for the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”. It has brought a total of US$25.4 billion in direct investment, 236,000 jobs, 510 kilometers of highways, more than 8,000 megawatts of electricity and 886 kilometers of core transmission to Pakistan. The network has played an irreplaceable role in promoting Pakistan’s economic and social development and regional integration, and has become an important game changer. Just recently, the Khunjerab Pass has been open all year round, the units of the SK Hydropower Station have been connected to the grid to generate electricity, the Gwadar New International Airport has been successfully completed, and 20,000 sets of health kits for students in Balochistan Province have been distributed. This is a microcosm of bilateral practical cooperation and the result of the joint efforts of the two countries,” he added.

“We are ready to work with Pakistan to draw the blueprint of the CPEC to the end, coordinate high-quality development with high-level security, coordinate quantitative growth with quality improvement, and coordinate the advancement of major landmark projects with the construction of “small but beautiful” livelihood projects, coordinate cooperation in traditional fields with cooperation in emerging fields, create an “upgraded version” of the CPEC, and write a new chapter of pragmatic cooperation, building a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, and continuously enriching the vivid practice of high-quality joint construction of the “Belt and Road”.”