Daily Times

Pak-China friendship has not only evolved to touch new highs over the past few years, the countries are now reshaping the entire South Asian region. So much, at least, was there for everybody to see at the second round of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue in the Chinese province of Hainan on Friday. The two sides exchanged views, as expected, on bilateral relations, the future of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), international and regional issues of importance to both countries, and different ways of controlling the coronavirus pandemic. Perhaps even more importantly, at least from Pakistan’ point of view, the Chinese side also put its weight behind Pakistan’s position on disputed Kashmir once again.

The Chinese side the dispute should be resolved peacefully and properly through the UN Charter, relevant Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements. China also stands opposed to any unilateral actions that can complicate the situation, a reference no doubt to the Indian government’s decision to revoke Kashmir’s special status last August. At a time when almost every country in the region has serious differences with India, even Delhi’s usual allies, and China itself has had a limited standoff with it in the Laddakh region, it is perhaps only natural that Islamabad and Beijing have taken it upon themselves to bring some semblance of order to South Asia.

The prime minister said very clearly in a recent TV interview that nobody should make any mistake about the fact that Pakistan’s future lies with China and both countries are not only going to grow together but also protect and reshape the entire region. The times when US goodwill and largesse dictated matters in South Asia in general and Pakistan in particular are already in the past. The only American adventure in the region at present is its Pivot to Asia, launched under the Obama administration, which seeks to limit Chinese advances by partnering with India. That explains, of course, why both America and India remain vehemently opposed to BRI as well as CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor). Critics often say that by going so strongly towards China, Pakistan has only changed one master and donor for another. But it’s not as if the Pakistan-China relationship is one-sided. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was the only international diplomat that led a team to Beijing when China was drawing all sorts of criticism for being the nerve centre of the coronavirus. Both sides, therefore, have not only cared for and helped each other immensely over time, but continue to do so for a better future for the whole region. *