China, Pakistan: Old friends, new challenges

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China, Pakistan: Old friends, new challenges

(People's Daily Online)
October 25, 2011

The photo shows the opening ceremony of the China-Pakistan Cooperation Conference.（People's Daily Online/Yao Chun）

On Oct. 24, the China-Pakistan Cooperation Conference was held in Beijing. Dozens of officials and academics from China and Pakistan attended the one-day conference to explore opportunities for cooperation in multiple fields such as education and strategic research, energy resources exploration, investment and trade.

2011 is the China-Pakistan Friendship Year. As good neighbors, China and Pakistan have always maintained a good relationship since the foundation of bilateral ties not matter how the international circumstance has changed. Both sides have constantly attached great importance to the principles of mutual confidence, mutual respect and mutual assistance, establishing a partnership that can stand any test.

Furthermore, the healthy development of China-Pakistan relations not only corresponds to the basic interests of both countries but also has a significant influence in maintaining regional peace and promoting regional development.

China always gives priority to the development of China-Pakistan relationships and is willing to cooperate with Pakistan to deepen this all-round cooperation and create a brilliant future for both sides, Tsinghua University Vice President Xie Weihe said in the opening address.

Masood Kham, Pakistan's ambassador to China, also high appreciated the China-Pakistan relationship, saying that bilateral ties have a long history and the fates of two countries have been tightly interwoven. Pakistan always supports China's national interests respecting the sovereign independence and territorial integrity of China. Pakistan hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in various areas, including science, energy and education.

At the same time, Chinese academics also put forward their concerns. Though China and Pakistan have maintained good cooperation in political affairs, such as territorial and sovereignty issues, the economic cooperation has lagged far behind, said Ye Hailin, secretary–general of the South Asia Research Center of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

According to statistics, trade between China and Pakistan hardly reached 10 billion U.S. dollars in 2010 while, China-U.S. trade was 380 billion U.S. dollars; China-Japan trade, 300 billion U.S. dollars, and China-India trade, 61.7 billion U.S. dollars.

Looking back on history, we cannot ignore the international circumstances that have spurred the rapid and prosperous development of China-Pakistan diplomatic ties. But if we only united on political issues, this cooperation would be fragile and temporary. Therefore, in order enhance the permanent and healthy development of China and Pakistan, it is indispensable to develop internal attractiveness and make extensive non-political cooperation for both sides.(Yao Chun)

China, Pakistan: Old friends, new challenges - People's Daily Online