China ‘brings all of Pakistan together’: Hina

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar on Monday termed China pillar of peace and stability in the region. She said all Pakistanis are united on friendship with Pakistan, adding China “brings all of Pakistan together.”

“No government has ever tried to change China’s position as the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy,” she said while addressing a seminar at the Pakistan-China Institute which organized the event on the upcoming 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China under its flagship Friends of Silk Road initiative.

The speakers discussed the prospects of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to be held by the end of 2022.Hina Rabbani Khar said China was a pillar of peace and stability in the region and a preserver, promoter and protector of principles of peaceful coexistence in the region. She said the initiatives launched by President Xi Jinping, whether it was Global Development Initiative or Global Security Initiative, were a testament to the fact that China prioritized human security and stability over confrontation.

China’s Ambassador Nong Rong termed Pakistan-China relations “rock-solid”. He expressed China’s sympathies for Pakistan in view of ongoing flooding in the country and said China wouldn’t leave Pakistan alone in such testing times. “Pakistan has always supported China in such situations,” he said and recalled how Pakistan donated all the available stock of tents to China in the 2008 earthquake. Commenting on NPC, he said it was the most important political agenda of this year. The CPEC, he said, transformed Pakistan’s socio-economic landscape by overhauling infrastructure and alleviating the energy crisis.

Mushahid thanked China for donating 25,000 tents and cash for flood victims. He said the core message emanating from President Xi Jinping’s leadership was people-centric development and human security.

Commenting on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) launched in 2013, he termed it the most important developmental and diplomatic initiative of the 21st century, and declared China a leader in climate change and globalization. He dismissed the notion of a new cold war advocated implicitly by some hawkish quarters and said the region could not afford another cold war since it would destabilize the whole region needlessly. He lauded Xi Jinping for achieving the goal of making China a moderately prosperous society by eradicating absolute poverty in China in 2021. Commenting on the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China, he hoped this would be a landmark conference that would set policy directions for China, Asia and the whole region.

Farhatullah Babar said the 20th CPC Congress would be a game-changer for China and the region since it would decide the future course of policy for China. He said it was also expected to provide an opportunity to Xi Jinping to secure a third term as president of China. He was also concerned about resurgence of militancy in Afghanistan and Pakistan and feared that the US might use these militants for terrorism in Pakistan and China.