Former Foreign Minister of Pakistan and Chairman of the Understanding China Forum, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, addressed a high-level gathering to mark two monumental milestones: the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China and the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Hosted by the Understanding China Forum(UCF) in collaboration with the Beaconhouse National University (BNU) Centre for Policy Research, the event brought together diplomats, scholars, and policymakers, including his excellency Chinese Consul General Sun Yan, UCF Founding President Zafar-ud-din Mahmood, and BNU Director Ambassador Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Director of Policy Research Institute of the Beaconhouse National University.
In his keynote address, Kasuri offered a historical analysis of global revolutions, contrasting the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949 with earlier European, American, and Soviet milestones. He highlighted Chairman Mao Zedong’s ideology from urban-centered Marxism to an agrarian-focused movement rooted in rural struggle and resilience, exemplified by the historic Long March.
Tracing China’s post-Mao economic trajectory, Kasuri focused on Deng Xiaoping’s pivotal leadership in modernizing the nation. He explained that Deng introduced two foundational maxims that redefined Chinese domestic policy and grand strategy, calling it Socialism with Chinese characteristics: “It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice”: Kasuri explained that this famous adage reflected Deng’s unyielding pragmatism over rigid Marxist-Leninist dogma. Deng asserted that market mechanisms and elements of economic planning were simply structural tools to increase productivity, lift millions out of poverty, and build national strength, regardless of ideological labels.