Daily Times

Once upon a time there were two presidents. Their countries were neighbours and their people enjoyed very close relations. Both gained independence from imperialist forces within a span of two years of each other. The first country was denied recognition by the Occident and instead, a tiny island of rebels from the mainland was not only granted the status of an independent country but also made a member of the UN Security Council, enjoying veto power. The second country had limited resources but helped its bigger neighbour to regain its status after a lapse of twenty-two years.

The second country continued providing a window of technology and resources which were denied by the Occident. The winds of change and sound planning enabled the first country to shed the yoke of economic challenges and become an industrial giant and the second largest economy in the world.

The second country remained embroiled in political upheavals and wars and could not attain its true potential. The first country never forgot the consideration and support of the second country during its bleak years of embargo and prohibition and supported its neighbour during its periods of trial and tribulation.

Readers must have guessed; the first country is China and the second is Pakistan. Stephen Solarz, the renowned US analyst was once asked, which two countries of the world enjoy the closest relations? People were expecting him to name US and Israel but instead he said China and Pakistan. He elaborated his response with details and examples and convinced the audience that indeed Pakistan and China are strategic partners and have the closest ties between two nations. Whether it is wars, earthquakes, floods or unprecedented rains, the people of China and Pakistan have stood by each other unified as one solidified edifice. No wonder President Xi Jinping has declared Pakistan and China to be “Iron Brothers”.

The outbreak of the deadly pandemic COVID-19 was first reported in China. Beijing had closed down the whole of China to stop the spread of the epidemic. In those dreary days, Dr.ArifAlvi, President of Pakistan braved the inclement conditions and flew to Beijing with a team of doctors, nurses and necessary medical equipment to offer solidarity to his Chinese counterpart, Dr. Xi Jinping. The gesture was not lost on the Chinese people, who boldly faced the challenges of this erstwhile unknown deadly virus but sent their medical experts and tons of medical equipment including the much required ventilators to Pakistan.

The visionary president of China, Xi Jinping launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013. China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a flagship of the BRI and runs from the port of Gwadar in the province of Balochistan in Pakistan to the city of Kashgar in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.

Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that his country is ready to work with Pakistan to deepen the building of ‘China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future’ and to jointly promote cooperation among the regional countries.

President Xi, in a letter to President Dr ArifAlvi, said both Pakistan and China are working to maintain the ‘momentum of peace and development in the region’. He said since the outbreak of coronavirus, the global fight against Covid-l9 has proved that mutual support‚ solidarity and cooperation were the only way to defeat the pandemic.

The Chinese president responded to a special letter of congratulations written by President Dr ArifAlvi on the second conference of the CPEC Political Parties Joint Consultation Mechanism, which, he said, fully demonstrated the great importance and support he (Dr Alvi) rendered to China-Pakistan relations and the CPEC.

The two Presidents are destined to meet again this time in Islamabad hopefully next month to further cement the strong ties, forged in iron

President Xi said, as a landmark project of the BRI, CPEC was of great significance to the further development of the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and the building of a closer China-Pakistan community of shared future.

He reiterated that the political parties of China and Pakistan have carried out friendly consultations on a regular basis, which have consolidated political consensus between the two countries to vigorously promote the steady and long-term development of the CPEC and high-quality BRI cooperation.

Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was dispatched to Hainan in China to hold strategic talks with his Chinese counterpart to hold a one-on-one meeting as well as delegation-level discussions as part of the second round of China-Pakistan foreign ministers’ strategic dialogue.

Meanwhile, the $60 billion infrastructure projects in Pakistan proposed under CPEC, which are central to China’s BRI to develop land and sea trade routes in Asia and beyond are on track. A fortnight earlier, Pakistan’s top economic body National Economic Council cleared a $6.8 billion project – its costliest CPEC project till date – to upgrade its railway lines for the Islamabad-Beijing link. The CPEC seeks to connect Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan with China’s Xinjiang province. The overall aim of CPEC is to act as a “Gateway of Prosperity” for both countries as well as the region, and even beyond. Under the CPEC, China is investing as much as $62 billion in various sectors in Pakistan in a phased manner. Investments under the CPEC in the infrastructure and energy sectors, through implementation of early-harvest projects, have filled in the voids and accelerated the pace of economic growth of the country that will ultimately provide a momentous boost to the economy.

Energy projects under CPEC have made progress in 2019-20. Two energy sector projects, namely the Engro Thar Power and Mine project (660 MW) and HUBCO Coal Power Project (1320 MW), were commissioned on 10 July 2019 and 14 August 2019 respectively. Accordingly, ground breaking ceremony of Gwadar 300 MW Coal Power project was held on 4 November 2019. Moreover, financial close was also achieved for HUBCO Thar Coal Power Project (Thar Energy) on 30 January 2020.

The two Presidents are destined to meet again this time in Islamabad hopefully next month to further cement the strong ties, forged in iron.

The writer is a retired Group Captain of PAF. He is a columnist, analyst and TV talk show host, who has authored six books on current affairs, including three on China