Pak-China relations

The scheduled visit of China’s President Xi Jinping to Pakistan last September, which had to be called off due to the volatile security and law and order situation created by the sit-ins in Islamabad, is finally on and the Chinese president will be visiting Pakistan on April 20 for a two-day visit.
During his stay in Pakistan his engagements will include an address to the joint session of parliament, formal meetings with the president and prime minister of Pakistan and inauguration of some energy projects purported to be launched under the China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) for which formal agreements were concluded during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to China in November 2014.
It would perhaps be pertinent to look at the relations between the two countries to develop an understanding of the infallibility they have assumed over the last 65 years. The two countries established diplomatic ties on May 21, 1951 – in the wake of Mao Tse Tung’s take over – against the wishes of western countries and since then have grown into an enduring, multifaceted, deep-rooted friendship which would perhaps require a new diplomatic phrase to describe them. These relations are underpinned by mutual trust, confidence, close identity of views and mutuality of interests.
Notwithstanding the fact that it was a US ally, development of relations with China has been the corner stone of Pakistan’s foreign policy. It was due to Pakistan’s alliance with the US and strong ties with China that enabled it to facilitate an end to China’s isolation by orchestrating rapprochement between the US and China in the early 1970s. Pakistan has also been supporting China on issues related to the question of its sovereignty over Hong Kong, Taiwan Tibet and other sensitive matters such as human rights.
Over the years, China has supported the Kashmir cause and extended liberal economic and military assistance to Pakistan. When Pakistan was abandoned by the US during the 1965 war with India, China was there to help as it did in each and every subsequent crisis. China has played a very significant role in our economic progress. The construction of the KKH Highway, Heavy Mechanical Complex at Taxila and Chashma Nuclear Plant are examples of this relationship.
In the backdrop of the US-India deal for transfer of civilian nuclear technology – which Pakistan regarded as discriminatory – China agreed to help Pakistan. An agreement to this effect was signed in June 2010 to set up two nuclear power plants at Chashma. The US raised objections on this cooperation between China and Pakistan but the former brushed aside the apprehensions by informing the Nuclear Suppliers Group of its decision to build Chashma IV and V.
An arrangement for a soft Chinese loan to fund the construction was also concluded. These plants are part of the PAEC programme to generate 8800MW of nuclear power for the country to supplement other sources of power generation. A nuclear power plant with a 2200MW power-generating capacity being constructed with Chinese help at Karachi is to start production by 2017.
China and Pakistan also have strong military ties with each other. China is the largest supplier of arms to Pakistan and its second-largest trading partner. The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra in collaboration with the Chinese Aviation Industry conceived the co-development and co-production of JF-17 Thunder Aircraft in 1999. The first batch of eight aircraft was produced in 2007 followed by serial production in 2009.
The PAC has completed the production of 50 aircraft under first phase of the agreement. The fiftieth aircraft was rolled out on December 18, 2013. The PAC has acquired the capability to produce 16-25 aircraft per year. This joint venture has not only enhanced the capability of our air force in defending the skies of the country but has also brought us in the a position of fulfilling the needs of other countries.
China is now working on a plan for the upgradation of the KKH at an approximate cost of $500 million and the building of 165km Jaglot-Skardu and Thakot-Sazin roads in Gilgit-Baltistan. In addition to these monumental projects, China is helping us with our energy crisis. A very significant project in hand is the upraising of the Mangla Dam reservoir by 60 feet. As part of resettlement of the people likely to be affected by this project, the Chinese firm International Water and Electric Corporation (CIW&EC) is also working on the construction of a bridge over river Jhelum in the same area.
Another very vital Chinese undertaking is the Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric Power Project. The Chinese are also entrusted with the responsibility to commission the Kohal Power Project estimated to cost $2.155 billion with a capacity to generate 1050MW of electricity. The Three Gorges Project Corporation of China is constructing Diamer-Bhasha Dam on the Indus River with a total investment of $12.6 billion.
In the backdrop of the history of unprecedented political, military and economic ties between the two countries, they are poised for yet another quantum jump in their economic relations through the launch of the China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) which has immense potential to trigger an era of regional economic linkages and shared prosperity. Of course, the immediate beneficiary would be Pakistan which is faced with a debilitating energy crisis affecting industry and every household in the country.
Under the CPEC China will make a total investment of $42 billion in the construction of road and rail links between China and Gawadar, development of the Gwadar Port, an international airport at Gwadar and a mix of coal-based and hydel power generating units designed to add 10400MW electricity to the system by 2017/18. Plans are also on the anvil for early harvest power projects with a total power generating capacity of 6645MW.
The completion of these power generating projects on time would not only winch the country out of the present energy crisis but would also lay a firm foundation for meeting our burgeoning energy needs in the future. It would probably not be an exaggeration to say that these projects are likely to have a revolutionary impact on the economic profile of the country and also greatly contribute to reducing regional economic disparities. The CPEC, by creating economic linkages and dependence among the regional countries, would also serve as a strong variable in promoting regional peace and security. The concept of CPEC, though conceived and propounded by China, fits well with the new narrative evolved by our present government to look for security and economic prosperity in our own region by recalibrating relations with its neighbours in line with the emerging geo-political and geo-economic realities.
The CPEC would help China expand and promote its commercial interests globally as well as impart an element of eternity to Pak-China relations.
The writer is a freelance contributor.
Email: ashpak10@gmail.com­