It is often said that Pakistan and China are brotherly nations. Friendship of both nations is deeper than sea, sweeter than honey and higher than mountains. The recent Chinese investment known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has also contrived terms such as ‘CPEC: a Game Changer’ and ‘Iron Brothers’ etc. However, despite attractive slogans, deeper cooperation and big investments, Pakistanis do not entirely know about Chinese political, social and economic structure. China is an alien country for common Pakistani people who have constructed various stereotypes about China and its citizens based on well-organised Western propaganda.
My recent visit to China’s Gansu Province for a fellowship programme is one of the most enthralling events of my life. The programme is sponsored by the Foreign Affairs Office of Gansu Provincial People’s Government. The aim of the programme is to open Gansu Province to the outside world, and to explore communication and cooperation abroad in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology, education and culture. Apart from making new friends from 22 countries of the world, I have tried to analyse why the nation is developing so fast. I have also analysed the political, social and economic structure of China, which brought certain interesting findings to me that helped me to develop the conclusion that this nation is ‘bound to rise’.
Firstly, I have been most impressed by Chinese people’s hard work and dedication towards their professions. Punctuality, persistency and development of skills in their professions are basic traits of their lives. They do not leave jobs or professions regularly. While travelling, I always found people smiling, exchanging greetings with one another, or conveying warmth, especially towards foreigners. I also studied people and their daily lifestyles in China, and found that the younger generation is less formal, more open and accepting. They like to communicate with foreigners, particularly with American and European citizens. They want more social interaction with these countries in order to learn their socio-economic development. One of my Chinese coordinators told me that the country has adopted all Western traditions with some modifications in line with their traditional norms and values. Majority of Chinese do not believe in religion, but they respect all religions on earth. A sense of ‘live and let live’ is common in the Chinese society.
Secondly, people are politically highly organised, motivated and committed to their assigned duties. In one of my meetings with young volunteers of the Communist Party of China (CPC), I saw that they were sitting on a roadside; I learned that those young volunteers were sitting there to help senior citizens, women and children of the town. It is their duty to make some contribution towards society prior to getting membership in the CPC. This helps in establishing empathy for society as well as in understanding daily life challenges. For them, President Xi Jinping and a local member of the CPC are equal.
CPC members get promotions based on their contributions to society. For CPC members, party and society are identical identities. From youth leagues to central organisation, the CPC has a well-organised administrative network. All policies are ensured to be implemented in a very smooth manner, which increases the work efficiency.
Thirdly, the Chinese always use the word ‘organised development’ for society and nation. For them, simple development can bring challenges in the long run; to avoid those challenges, they work in an organised way to develop the community and nation so that it can be sustained for a long time. For instance, China has understood that non-renewable energy resources can reduce their development growth rate, and therefore, they have decided to work on renewable energy resources. In this regard, solar energy is the main area of interest for the Chinese government. We stayed at the Solar Energy International Hotel, Lanzhou. The whole town has been converted into a solar energy park, and the local government is gradually expanding its scope of provision of sustainable solar energy to local consumers. The International Solar Energy Research Centre has been established in the city for carrying out further research on solar energy production and consumption. To conclude, all these traits are prerequisites for establishment of a powerful nation that can assert itself economically and politically internationally. It is suggested that through increased cooperation, Pakistan can learn and benefit from China, especially in the field of Information Technology, and from a greater exchange of alternative sources of energy.
The writer is a PhD Scholar at CIPS, NUST, and a researcher at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute