Sino-Pak strategic dialogue to boost economic cooperation
Pakistan and China have agreed to launch a new 5-year development plan besides approving proposals for 36 projects, costing $13.285 billion, in various fields to further boost economic cooperation between the two friendly countries

By Alauddin Masood

The ongoing Sino-Pakistan strategic dialogue between Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jia Bao and Pakistani leadership is expected to further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries. During his 3-day visit, the Chinese Premier would address the country’s parliament’s joint sitting on December 19, 2010.

Wen Jia Bao will meet President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani separately to discuss wide-ranging topics of joint interest. Their talks will primarily focus on developing mutually beneficial economic partnership between both the countries, and moving forward to have greater understanding on the regional and internal affairs.

A 260-member business delegation, including private entrepreneurs, is also visiting Pakistan along with China’s prime minister. Earlier, an economic team from China arrived in Islamabad during the first week of December and held fourteen meetings.

Pakistan and China have agreed to launch a new 5-year development plan besides approving proposals for 36 projects, costing $13.285 billion, in various fields to further boost economic cooperation between the two friendly countries. The proposals for these projects were agreed upon at the 14th session of Pakistan-China Joint Committee on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technical Cooperation (JEC), with Finance Minister Dr. Hafeez Shaikh and China’s International Trade Representative Gao Hucheng.

The projects agreed upon were related to development of industry, water and energy, agriculture, fisheries and communications. The JEC also decided to boost exports from Pakistan to China by providing tariff relaxation through free trade agreement. In addition, the Chinese would invest in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy, including agriculture, electricity, mining and infrastructure.        

During a meeting with Gao Hucheng, President Zardari underlined the importance of establishing a better communication network between Pakistan and China to boost mutual trade. Matters attached to Pak-China joint cooperation in the areas of economy, trade and investment, infrastructure development, banking operations, roads and communication networks also came under discussion during the meeting.

President Zardari said that our Chinese brethren have the expertise and we offer the opportunities, and there exists a win-win situation for the two countries to strengthen the existing equation with more investment and economic cooperation. He expressed the hope that Pakistan-China Joint Investment Company (JIC), established to facilitate investment, would provide an impetus to attract more investments in the country.

Meanwhile, it has been learnt that Chinese mobile company – Zong – will invest $300 million in the country this year.  Zong has so far invested $1.66 billion in Pakistan and has generated over 1,700 direct and over 40,000 indirect jobs.

Pakistan and China enjoy a deep-rooted cordial relationship, which is often termed as a major source of peace and stability in South Asia. Sino-Pakistan friendship goes back to ancient times. However, it has acquired new dimensions after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations 59 years ago; and since then the friendship has been continuously growing. 

The two countries maintain constant exchanges at high-level and frequent people-to-people contacts. Taking the tradition of his predecessors forward, Asif Ali Zardari has paid six official visits to China, since assuming office in September 2008, to exchange views with the Chinese leadership and learn from China’s experience in taking rapid strides towards development and prosperity.

Pakistan-China relations have now acquired a new vigour due to greater political understanding and ever-increasing economic cooperation between the two countries. In addition to energy, communication, hydropower and agriculture projects, China has also agreed to assist Pakistan in the construction of Bhasha-Diamir multipurpose dam. Both the countries are engaged in the joint production of Thunderstorm fighter aircrafts and recently Pakistan has also acquired submarines from China.

Pakistan-China trade hit $6.8 billion in 2008. Registering an increase of 30 per cent per year, it is likely to surge to $18 billion in the next 4-5 years from the existing $7 billion.

Despite changes in the global scenario, China has stood by Pakistan during all hardships; while Pakistan has also always supported China on important issues, especially on human rights and Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan and Tibet.

Pakistan extended assistance to the Chinese people to fight and control Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) when the country was struck by the deadly epidemic in April, 2003. On their part, the Chinese leadership has never failed to appreciate Pakistan’s steadfast support. The Chinese leaders do not feely shy in admitting that their country’s rapid progress would not have been possible without close interaction with the world, the West in particular, and the part played by Pakistan in opening up the windows to the world for China. 

Today, China has a robust economy. Launched in 1979 for developing key sectors of agriculture, industry, defence as well as science and technology, the Four Modernisation Programme, has greatly contributed to rapid progress, development and advancement in China. This programme was followed by industrial reforms in 1985, aimed at modernising China’s industrial sector and quadrupling industrial production by close of the last millennium. 

Consequently, in 2008 China’s GDP stood at $4.3 trillion and per capita income $3,263 against a GDP of $18 billion and per capita income of $50 in 1949; while some 200 million people have come out of the poverty trap during the last 30 years.

The Chinese society has now become more open and dynamic. Presently, there are some 2,000 newspapers, over 9,000 magazines and 287 TV channels in China. With 700 million mobile phones subscribers, 300 million internet users and 180 million bloggers, no doubt, the Chinese lead the world today in texting, blogging and surfing the web. In the last 30 years, 1.39 million Chinese studied in 109 countries. In a span of just one year – calendar year 2008, some 45 million Chinese travelled overseas as tourists.

In the past 30 years, China’s trade has registered more than a hundred fold rise, increasing from $20.6 billion to over $2.6 trillion. Thirty years ago, foreign direct investment in China was virtually non-existent. In 2008, it grew to $92.4 billion, ranking China at the first place among all the developing nations. China has remained throughout conscious about the development of the third world countries as well, and in the past 30 years it has invested over $150 billion in 170 countries and regions across the globe.

The governments and the people of both Pakistan and China cherish their close bonds of friendship and wish these to strengthen further in future, especially in trade, defence, economic cooperation and project development.

Pakistan is confident that the recent visit of the Chinese prime minister to Pakistan will enhance the existing Pakistan-China bilateral relations in various fields.