Pakistan should play role of bridge between China and US: FM Bilawal

Islamabad: Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said Pakistan should play a role of bridge between China and the United States.

“Rather than being a point of competition or a venue for these divisions (between China and the US) to be exacerbated, I would like Pakistan to continue to play a role that we have in the past. Pakistan originally played a bridge between China and the US, resulting in diplomatic relations between the two countries,” he said in an interview.

He added: “And right now, particularly when we’re drowning in floods, I don’t want to play any part in exacerbating any tensions or being a geopolitical football. In this time of great geopolitical division, I would much rather play the role of a bridge by uniting these two great powers around working together for climate change.”

In the interview with Foreign Policy, the FM made these remarks while answering a series of questions on Islamabad’s ties with Washington and Beijing, particularly in the context of assistance pledged and provided by the two in the wake of calamitous floods.

“What China does, whether it’s with Sri Lanka or Pakistan, that’s totally China’s decision. Just like it’s 100 per cent America’s decision in either of these circumstances,” he maintained.

The FM hoped that “perhaps, Pakistan’s unique position as a friend of both the China and the US could encourage cooperation on this front”.

FM Bilawal asserted that “not everything is about the geopolitical conflict of the US and China. And I think it’s preposterous that we’re even having that conversation while talking about my country’s survival and our ability to deal with cataclysmic flooding, it’s absolutely ridiculous. We won’t be able to confront climate change if the United States and China don’t work together”.

In this connection, the foreign minister also explained that the relationship between China and Pakistan had “long, bipartisan roots”.

He added that Pakistan had wanted to be friends with China when no one else did. “Now, everybody wants to be friends with China,” he commented, as he went on to elaborate on how China had come to Pakistan’s help in recent times.

Asked if he had asked for help to deal with the flood destruction, he mentioned: “No, to be honest. I haven’t asked anyone. I didn’t ask for help from the US, they volunteered it. Didn’t ask for help from China, they volunteered. Didn’t ask for help from the Middle East, they volunteered. In times of human catastrophe, I think it tests everyone’s humanity.”