Stability, Cooperation and Development.

Byline: Zhao Shiren

M ay 21st marks the 72nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is high time to celebrate. A thousand-mile journey begins with the very first step. Nurtured by successive generations of leadership of our two great nations ever since 1951, the China-Pakistani relationship has grown into a time-tested, long-standing and all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. Over the past 72 years, we have built exemplary fraternity on consensus, mutual respect and reciprocal support, rather than banking on parochial interests, short-term benefits or mere geopolitics. China always puts Pakistan on priority in its neighbourhood diplomacy and the two countries firmly support each other's core interests no matter how the international landscape changes. This tradition has carried weight on the bilateral ties all along the way into today, and made tremendous contribution to regional security and world peace.

It is not only a valuable asset for both countries, but also sets an example for state-to-state relations of different political systems and cultures. Facing the choppy water and headwinds, China and Pakistan have acted in tandem and in solidarity. The last 3 years had seen both countries giving a helping hand to each other in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, the unprecedented flood calamity, and the evacuation effort of 200 more Pakistani diaspora by Chinese navy ship from the war-torn Sudan to Saudi Arabia. This year when Pakistan was handling the extraordinary financial and economic challenges featured by a paucity of foreign exchange reserves and daunting external debt repayment, China, to the best of its capacity, came firstly and immediately to loan, deposit and rollover, rendering much-needed assistance for Pakistan's financial stabilisation.

This year also witnesses the resumption and regaining momentum of the high-level exchanges and visits. Since Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid his maiden official visit to China last November, the new Chinese Premier Li Qiang had held the first telephonic conversation with him. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang made his inaugural visit to Islamabad in early May, co-chairing with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari the 4th round of the Foreign Minister-level Strategic Dialogue. Both reaffirmed their unwavering resolve to further uplift the bilateral ties. Meanwhile...