Sino-Pak ties galloping under CPEC: Sartaj

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Sunday said as political links between China and Pakistan were ever strong, the growing economic ties were now galloping under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Addressing a ceremony featuring the Pakistan China Joint Cultural Performance to celebrate the 65th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, he said China was now Pakistan’s largest trading partner. He said a question people generally asked was what made this relationship special.

The answer was simple: absolute mutual trust. “The people of our two countries rejoice in each other’s achievements and feel as one during sorrows. Both countries firmly believe in the principles of sovereign, equality and non-interference,” he remarked.

Sartaj said China had always supported Pakistan’s territorial integrity and independence. Pakistan too had upheld the One China Policy and supported China on issues concerning Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang.

Expressing his pleasure over the cultural performance, he welcomed Chinese friends, especially the artists from Hunan Provincial Performing Art Group. He said the 65th anniversary was not just a formal occasion. It was a unique celebration of a unique relationship the like of which would be difficult to find in human history.

The relations between countries always experienced high and low periods, but not between China and Pakistan, he said. He said strong relations with China “were, are and will always be the bedrock of Pakistan’s foreign policy”.

The bond between the two countries, he said, had received continuous nourishment from the leadership of both sides over the last six decades and especially in the past two years.

“Higher than Himalayas, deeper than oceans, sweeter than honey, dearer than eyesight, stronger than steel, valuable than gold are the words which have been used to describe our evergreen relationship.

These poetic expressions are not mere words but a manifestation of warmth between the leadership and people of our two countries,” Sartaj said, adding that the CPEC was no doubt the latest landmark in their relations but their friendship had deep historical roots.

He said monks and envoys traversed the challenging heights of Karakorum, Hindukush and Himalayas to connect the Gandhara and the Indus Valley Civilizations with the Chinese Civilization.

Fa Xian and Xuan Zang, in the fourth and seventh centuries respectively, crossed the inaccessible altitudes of these mountain ranges. Many scholars from the territory that was now Pakistan travelled to China to imbibe the glorious civilisation of China, he said.

He congratulated the Cultural Section of the Chinese Embassy, China Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistan National Council of Arts for organising the wonderful cultural performance.