President Zardari’s visit to further strengthen special friendly relations: Prof Cheng
Beijing: President Asif Ali Zardari’s state visit to China will help further consolidate and strengthen special friendly relations between the two countries, Senior Fellow at Charhar Institute, Cheng Xizhong said on Thursday.
From the perspective of bilateral relations, China and Pakistan are staunch friends and all-weather strategic partners, with a profound traditional friendship. The visit of the Pakistani President to China will help further consolidate and strengthen this special friendly relationship, he said in a statement.
The Chinese scholar said that against the backdrop of complex and changing international situations, it will showcase the stability and firmness of China-Pakistan friendship to the world, laying a more solid foundation for the long-term development of bilateral relations.
Terming face to face communication and dialogue between Chinese and Pakistani leaders is an important way to enhance political mutual trust, he said that the leaders of both sides can exchange in-depth views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues, which can better understand each other’s strategic intentions and core interests, continue to firmly support each other on major issues related to each other’s sovereignty, security, and development, and enhance the level of political mutual trust between the two countries.
In recent years, China-Pakistan cooperation in economy and trade, energy, infrastructure and other fields has yielded fruitful results, he added.
Prof Cheng said that the President’s visit to China to focus on issues such as the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor can further promote deeper practical cooperation between the two sides in more fields, promote an “upgraded version” of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor cooperation, and better benefit the two peoples.
During the visit, the two sides have reached many new cooperation consensus in the fields of culture, education, media and so on, which can promote personnel and cultural exchanges between the two countries, enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, inject more people to people and cultural impetus into the sustainable development of China-Pakistan relations, and let China-Pakistan friendship pass on from generation to generation, he added.
From the perspective of regional cooperation, he said that China and Pakistan have reiterated their commitment to a “zero tolerance” attitude in combating all forms of terrorism and strengthening bilateral and multilateral counter-terrorism cooperation, which is of great significance for maintaining regional security and stability. This is not only conducive to ensuring the smooth progress of cooperation projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, but also helps to enhance the security environment of the entire region.
He remarked that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is an important pivot project of the “the Belt and Road” initiative and plays a key role in promoting regional connectivity. The President’s visit to China to promote corridor construction will strengthen the economic ties and infrastructure connectivity between Pakistan, China, and surrounding areas, enhance the level of trade and investment facilitation in the region, and promote the development of regional economic integration.
Close cooperation between China and Pakistan can play a greater role in regional affairs, providing more positive energy for peace, stability and development in the region, jointly addressing various challenges and issues, enhancing the discourse power and influence of the two countries in regional and international affairs, and promoting the construction of a more fair and reasonable regional order.
He said that from the perspective of the international pattern, in the context of the current complex and volatile international situation, the visit of the President of Pakistan to China shows that China’s relations with neighboring countries and friendly countries are deepening, and the concepts of peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation advocated by China are recognized and supported by more and more countries.
As important representatives of developing countries, strengthening cooperation between China and Pakistan is conducive to promoting world multipolarity and democratization of international relations. Strengthening coordination between the two countries in international affairs, jointly safeguarding the interests of developing countries, will help break the shackles of unilateralism, and contribute to the construction of a more just and reasonable international order, he added.
