Daily Times

The recently concluded CPEC Political Parties Joint Consultation Mechanism (JCM) established consensus on CPEC cooperation among various communities of Pakistan, and promoted steady progress on the ground. Dr.ArifAlvi, President of Pakistan, felicitated the landmark with a hearty message of congratulations to the second JCM, which was reciprocated by a verbal message from H.E Xi Jinping, General Secretary of CPC Central committee and President of China.

Communist Party of China (CPC), which crossed an important milestone in July, its 99th anniversary, reiterated its resolve to work with political parties in Pakistan to implement the important consensus reached between leaders of the two countries, contribute the strength of the political parties to high-quality Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) and take the China-Pakistan all weather strategic partnership of cooperation to new heights.

It is indeed heartening that development of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) flagship project of the BRI has entered a new phase. At the JCM, held online to meet the challenges of COVID-19, concrete proposals were presented to take advantage of the new opportunities and called for high quality CPEC cooperation necessitating greater commitment and stronger action from political parties. Salient among the recommendations was that recognizing CPEC as a road of development, political parties should lead for cooperation between the two countries to achieve shared prosperity. Firstly, the JCM hoped that political parties in both countries will continue to make good use of the consultation platform of JCM, strengthen coordination, and work together to pool more political consensus on high-quality CPEC cooperation. This would result in the political parties contributing greater wisdom, strength, and solutions.

The political leadership of Pakistan has to take cognizance of the fact that irrespective of the political divide, CPEC merits total commitment and harmony just like the entire nation is united on the aspects of Kashmir and the nuclear capability of Pakistan

Secondly, as CPEC is a road to happiness and a better life, political parties shall work to guide public opinion. China has affirmed to maintain good communication with Pakistani political parties, listening to the opinions and accommodating fresh expectations of the people, so as to consolidate the foundation of public support and goodwill for CPEC cooperation.

Thirdly, as CPEC is a road for stability and security, political parties shall protect outcomes of this cooperation. Security in CPEC development would not be guaranteed without the care and support of Pakistani political parties in or out of government at both the central and local levels. Hence, China is ready to step up communication with various political parties in Pakistan and contribute ideas to ensure steady progress of CPEC in a safe environment and shoulder the heavy responsibility of safeguarding CPEC.

Fourthly, as CPEC is a road for win-win progress, the political parties shall help shape favorable opinions and prevent external actors from stigmatizing and disrupting CPEC cooperation.

Sub-national cooperation is part and parcel of CPEC and holds the key to high-quality CPEC cooperation in the next phase.

Song Tao, Minister for International Department of CPC, who participated in the 2nd JCM, highlighted the strengths of the CPC even during the scourge of COVID-19. Song Tao emphasized that the CPC, even during the pandemic, did not lose the hope of building a shared community for the whole humankind and rejects the notion of cold war mentality. He echoed Xi Jinping’s philosophy of ‘people-first’ and ‘life-first’ being the sole purpose of the party. It recapped how 39 million party workers fought the pandemic in the frontline, and among 40,000 doctors that were sent to Hubei, 56.1% were party members. As per a recent trust barometer report released by a well-known public relations firm in the US, 95% of the Chinese public trust Chinese government which is the highest percentage among the countries surveyed.

No wonder that the CPC emerged as a staunch guardian of lasting peace and universal security. Since CPC prefers to solve the global challenges through dialogue and consultation, it has never waged a war of aggression in the past. The same approach of peaceful negotiations was used by China in case of South-China sea dispute. Conclusively, 240 political parties and organizations, and 280 well known think tanks from over 120 countries have stood up in support of China’s stance.

With reference to BRI and CPEC, the Chinese dignitary stressed that China’s openness to the world has contributed to the growth of the world economy. To solve the issue of unbalanced development, CPC initiated BRI, which has become a model for cooperation in all sectors including economy, health, and social development. Now many political leaders and the masses have rejected the baseless propaganda of ‘spheres of influence’ and ‘debt-trap diplomacy’ while CPC has initiated cultural exchanges programs to transfer the findings from Chinese experiments to make other countries prosperous.

The JCM being the apex political platform established by the CPC in partnership with the political parties of Pakistan, has proved to be a useful platform for bringing consensus towards CPEC. The political leadership of Pakistan has to take cognizance of the fact that irrespective of the political divide, CPEC merits total commitment and harmony just like the entire nation is united on the aspects of Kashmir and the nuclear capability of Pakistan. CPEC is the lifeline for Pakistan and no amount of terror attacks, machinations by the detractors of China and Pakistan and propaganda by vested interests, the entire nation of Pakistan is united with its Chinese iron brothers in the successful fruition of CPEC and BRI.

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