There is no doubt that construction of railways or energy pipelines between China and Pakistan are achievable. When it comes to the relations between these two friendly neighbors, realisation of dreams is only a matter of time, said Ambassador Lu Shulin, former Chinese ambassador to Pakistan.
This was stated by ambassador Lu accompanied by a Chinese delegation at a roundtable meeting organised by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) here on Friday. He said the Chinese people viewed Pakistan as China’s brother, and that Chinese friendship with Pakistan was a time-tested all-weather friendship.
Ambassador Zhao Gang, another former Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, and head of the visiting delegation, said China’s relationship with Pakistan is a mutually beneficial partnership in which both the countries treat one another as equal partners.
Ambassador Lu called the Karakoram Highway (KKH) a symbol of Pak-China friendship, adding the Chinese government would do all that it could to resolve the problems arising out of the blockade of KKH by Attabad Lake.
Ambassador Zhao saw great potential in Pak-China relations in the fields of energy and economic cooperation, and infrastructure development. “Roads, railways, energy infrastructure, and ports are a must for economic progress,” he said. He called economic development an important source of political stability. The Chinese companies were interested in investing in Pakistan but remained reluctant due to security concerns of their personnel.
Ambassador Lu and ambassador Zhao were strongly of the opinion that China and Pakistan needed to improve their relations not only at the political and strategic levels but also at the economic level. Zhao stressed the need for implementation of the already concluded agreements and memorandum of understandings (MoUs) between the two countries.
On the subject of future of Afghanistan, Zhao said China wanted a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan that would have friendly relations with all its neighbours including China and Pakistan.
He said China wanted to see good Indo-Pak and Pak-US relations, as long as maintaining those good relations did not come at the cost of compromising Pakistan’s vital interests.
President of IRS Ashraf Azim was of the view that China and Pakistan needed to improve people-to-people contacts by promoting student and youth exchange programmes.
Senior Fellow at IRS Brig Bashir Ahmed stressed the need for enhanced cooperation between China and Pakistan in the fields of infrastructure development, urban planning, and bilateral trade.
