Chinese politician and top diplomat Mr. Yang Jiechi recently visited Pakistan for two days, from June 29 to June 30, 2022, as a part of the delegation. He is a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP’s) central committee and the Director of the central committee of the Foreign Affairs (Vice Minister for foreign affairs and Commerce, Vice Chairman of China International Development Co-operation Agency, and Deputy Secretary General of the National Development and reform commission).
It was a regular discussion exchange visit between Pakistan and China. Prior to this, the foreign ministers of the two countries had a virtual meeting on May 11, 2022, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif called Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on May 16, 2022. However, Mr. Yang, who served as the country’s foreign minister from 2007 to 2013 and as a state councilor from that year to 2017, plays a significant part in China’s foreign policy.
The two neighboring nations are Pakistan and China, both are aligned strategically and economically. Therefore, In the field of the economy, military, and energy – China has collaborated multiple times with Pakistan. Such as on the issue of Kashmir – China has always supported Pakistan through its Belt Road Initiative programme (BRI), and the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
This visit demonstrates how significant their relationship is with Pakistan in every condition such as strategy, cooperation, and collaboration in all the conditions. In fact, both parties reaffirmed their shared support for one another on issues that pertain to their core interests, even increased economic engagement, looked into new opportunities for bilateral cooperation for the benefit of both countries, advanced the high-quality development of CPEC, and coordinated positions on significant regional and global issues of shared interest. Thus, this visit reflects the reciprocal ties that link China and Pakistan on a regional and global scale.
Meeting with Prime Minister of Pakistan, Foreign Minister, and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS)
Meeting with Prime Minister
Mr. Yang Jiechi had a meeting in Islamabad on June 29, 2022, with the prime minister of Pakistan. Mr. Yang expresses that the relationship and mutual trust between China and Pakistan will endure – no matter how the world order changes. However, China hopes to further improve policy communication and development strategy coordination. Therefore, China is prepared to maintain the long-standing relationship – strengthen strategic mutual trust, and intensify practical co-operations. Thus, China desires to jointly construct the CPEC in a secure, efficient, and high-quality manner. So, China wants to cooperate with Pakistan to create a stronger community between the two countries with a shared future.
Similarly, In order to protect the shared interests of developing nations, Mr. Yang Jiechi stated that China is eager to increase coordination with Pakistan on international issues. Further, He said that China welcomes Pakistan’s participation in the Global Development Initiative (GDI), and Global Security Initiative (GSI) and that China is prepared to cooperate with Pakistan. In order to make Asia and the rest of the world more peaceful, safe, and prosperous.
However, there is no power that can stop China’s growth process, hence China would be the sole superpower in near future due to its cooperative policies. Thus, Pakistan is prepared to engage with China to advance practical collaboration in a number of areas and hasten the CPEC’s construction. Pakistan is prepared to advance its relationship with China an all-weather strategic cooperative partnership to unprecedented heights. The GDI and GSI fulfill common ambitions of the international community and will unquestionably be significant contributors to regional and global peace, stability, development, and prosperity. The renewal of the 2.3 billion dollar syndicate facility was also acknowledged by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. In addition to providing medical supplies and vaccinations, Mr. Shahbaz Sharif praised China for helping to stop Covid-19.
Therefore, Shahbaz Sharif placed a strong emphasis on fostering intercultural understanding. PM thanked Mr. Yang for helping students who were struck in Pakistan but wanted to continue their studies on a Chinese university campus return to China for their studies and expressed the hope that the remaining students would return to China for their studies soon.
In addition to emphasizing the need to increase Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) weekly flight volume, Mr. Prime Minister expressed gratitude to China for allowing PIA flights to resume (PIA). In order to protect and advance regional security, stability, and development as well as counterterrorism, China and Pakistan have decided to further intensify their collaboration.
Meeting with COAS Gener Qamar Javed Bajwa, and Foreign Minister Bilawal Zardari
Regarding the safety of its employees operating in Pakistan, China is concerned. China has questioned Pakistani security authorities and demanded that they provide foolproof security for its employees as well as bring those responsible for the deaths of Chinese workers to justice. Pakistan and China have tense ties as a result of these instances. Beijing is worried about the lack of development in the investigation into the April 26 incident in Karachi that resulted in the deaths of three Chinese language instructors. For the safety of Chinese people and installations, China required authorization for the deployment of private Chinese security forces.
During his previous June 2022 visit to China, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa attempted to allay Chinese worries by emphasizing the army’s dedication to providing “foolproof security.” Additionally, He pledged to continue to play a part in raising the level of diplomatic ties with Pakistan.
However, the visiting dignitary expressed gratitude to the (COAS) for the particular precautions taken to ensure that Chinese workers engaged in various projects in Pakistan. Additionally, During his visit, Mr. Yang also had a meeting with Bilawal Zardari who is the current Foreign Minister of Pakistan. So, In a statement released by the foreign office, the two sides said they had addressed the whole range of their bilateral ties and had also exchanged opinions on regional and global problems of shared concern.
Implications of this visit on Pak-China relations:
In close proximity to one another are Pakistan and China. In regards to Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir, China has consistently backed it up and taken note of its strategic concerns. In China’s foreign policy, Mr. Yang wields sway. The primary issue for Pakistan in the current situation is its fragile and unsustainable economy.
Mr. Yang’s visit was a kind gesture toward Pakistan that demonstrates China’s support for Pakistan. The positive impact of this visit is that – now Chinese people can work freely after this visit and it will not affect the ties between the two nuclear-armed co-operative countries.
Conclusion:
In terms of strategy, Pakistan and China have a long history together. It was therefore only logical that Pakistan would look to China at a time when it required a quick rise in external finance to fulfill vital expenditures in hard infrastructure, notably power plants and motorways. As a result of the early harvest projects of CPEC, Pakistan’s electricity generating capacity significantly increased, ending the supply-side limitations that had rendered rolling blackouts commonplace throughout the nation. Nonetheless, during that visit, the senior diplomats noted the “increasing dynamism” of defense exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, calling their defense relationship a “factor of regional peace and stability.”
