Pakistan-China relationship leads to regional, global stability: Ambassador Haque

KARACHI: The friendly relations between Pakistan and China led to stability in the region and beyond and both the countries are keen to further promote ties for the development of the entire region, a diplomat said on Tuesday.

“Regional peace is important for the development of our people, so that’s why we promote friendly neighbourly ties in our region,” Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque said in an interview with the Global Times.

Evaluating relations between the two countries span over seven decades, he emphasised that Pakistan-China relations are very unique and irreplaceable.

“Over the past seven decades, the two countries have formed a close and friendly brotherhood. Today, we are strategic partners and cooperate in almost every field. This year is a milestone in our relationship, as we are celebrating 70 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties,” he said.

The bilateral ties enjoy support at the highest level and have been nurtured over the years by successive generations of leadership and people of the two countries, he said, adding: “This is the essence of our strong ties. We hope that in the next 70 years, we will take this relationship to even greater heights.”

To a question on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the ambassador said that there are detractors of Pakistan and China that obviously do not like this friendship.

“There are countries, which do not like the peaceful rise of China, so there will always be these critics and voices but we are not worried about that as the China-Pakistan friendship is rock solid,” he added.
The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) constitutes an important element of economic and investment cooperation between the two countries. “For us, it’s a project, which has transformed Pakistan’s landscape. A few days back, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a meeting with Ambassador Nong Rong in which he reaffirmed our commitment to CPEC and assured that Pakistan would make all efforts necessary for the timely completion of all projects.”

Ambassador Haque said that Pakistan-China relationship is not directed against the third country, adding, “Pakistan is part of South Asia and we always strive to have good relationships with all the countries of South Asia. Our neighbourhood policy is based on the philosophy of co-existence with all our neighbours peacefully. This is also China’s approach.”

He congratulated the people of China and the Communist Party of China (CPC) for achieving the historic milestone of 100 years. The party has played a key role in China’s development, starting from its liberation to poverty alleviation, and termed it a miracle. It is a historic feat by the CPC to lift almost 800 million people out of poverty.

The ambassador said CPC’s policies are people-centric and aimed at the wellbeing of the people of China. “We are also grateful to the CPC for its strong support to China-Pakistan friendship.”

China’s rise is peaceful, whereas its international relations are based on mutual respect and cooperation. China always supports multilateralism, international cooperation, and solidarity. “We take pride in our relationship with China, which is based on warm sentiments and shared values,” he added.

On the efforts made by Pakistan to prevent cross-border transmission of the Covid-19, the ambassador said the pandemic has affected all the countries in the world with Pakistan being no exception. The government took very prudent and timely measures not only to protect the lives and control the spread of the virus but also to ensure economic stability in Pakistan.

“We have been able to control the virus and the situation is stable now and the next challenge is to vaccinate the majority of the population of our country,” he added.

Ambassador Haque said that the vaccination campaign has started in Pakistan for which the whole country is grateful to China for its support. “China helped Pakistan during our difficult times by providing essential relief goods, now it has provided us with vaccines. The overwhelming majority of vaccines being used in Pakistan are Chinese made.”

Pakistan has strict border control to prevent the spread of the disease from neighbouring countries and is confident that it can control the spread of the virus, he said, adding that three Chinese Covid-19 vaccines have been registered in Pakistan for use.

“If there had been any concern, we would not have registered them. They are very safe and effective,” he added. The ambassador also said the Pakistani population is being vaccinated in large numbers by these vaccines, and he himself has been vaccinated by Chinese vaccines and suffered no side effects, ensuring our satisfaction with Chinese vaccines.

“We need international cooperation and it’s not the time for blame-game or the politicisation of the global pandemic,” the ambassador added.

Pakistan was the first country to receive vaccine donations from China. “So we appreciate the role China is playing. The Chinese vaccines are saving lives around the world,” Ambassador Haque added.

“We are very happy to partner with CanSino, which has achieved local production in Pakistan. They have conducted Phase-III trials in Pakistan and also set up their facility in Pakistan. As we move forward, we will upgrade our facility to produce domestic vaccines in Pakistan with the help of Chinese companies,” he added.

About his visit to Xinjiang, he said: “We have very close ties with Xinjiang because it borders Pakistan. There have been historic cultural and trade linkages between our two regions. Xinjiang is a beautiful province and very diverse. I was impressed by the social harmony and preservation and promotion of the local intangible culture in Xinjiang. The level of development in the region was also impressive.”

“We visited many mosques. We could see the focus being paid by the Chinese government on religious harmony and freedom, as well as on the protection of religious sites. That was quite remarkable,” he added.

Regarding the role of China in the Afghan peace process, he said, “We recently had a trilateral meeting among the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. It was a successful meeting and all three foreign ministers agreed on the importance of bringing peace and stability back to Afghanistan.”

“We all want Afghanistan to stabilise as soon as possible so that the people of Pakistan can live a happy and peaceful life.”

He said as the US forces withdraw from Afghanistan, there will be more responsibility on the government of Afghanistan and on the regional countries to cooperate to address the menace of terrorism.

“China is already playing a very important role in trilateral cooperation. It did not only promote the peace process but also contributed to the development and reconstruction of Afghanistan.”

“China is a friend of Afghanistan and is working with the Afghan government to ensure that the peace process is successful. It is also providing essential assistance and aid to the government of Afghanistan”, he added.