Strategic partnership to further accelerate Pak-China relationship: Jiang Zaidong
Celina Ali
Islamabad: Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong has assured that all-weather strategic cooperative partnership will further accelerate the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.
He shared his views in his article written on the occasion of celebrating the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s historic visit to Pakistan with title advance the building of China-Pakistan community with a shared future under the guidance of President Xi Jinping.
The ambassador said in April of 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a historic visit to Pakistan.
He said the two countries established the world’s first all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, formulated the layout of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and set direction for the leapfrog development of China-Pakistan relations in the new era.
Jiang Zaidong said, “Over the past decade, we have supported and helped each other, promoting and upgrading China-Pakistan relations with high-level mutual trust.”
He said as President Xi Jinping said, friendship between China and Pakistan is based on trust and mutual support, and we have been devoted friends through both good and hard times. “Our friendship is a pacesetter for amicable relations between countries.”
He said that from the joint fight against COVID-19 to China’s post-flood reconstruction assistance to Pakistan after the 2022 flood, we repaid kindness with greater generosity, setting a good example of international relations in the new era, the ambassador added.
He said that over the past decade, leaders of the two countries have maintained frequent exchanges. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited China in June last year, Premier Li Qiang visited Pakistan in October of the same year, and President Asif Ali Zardari visited China in February this year.
He said the political mutual trust between China and Pakistan has been continuously strengthened.
He said President Xi Jinping held talks and meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and reached important consensus, setting the direction and injecting strong impetus for China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperation under the new circumstances.
“We are willing to work with Pakistan to fully implement the consensus reached by the two countries’ high-level leaders and transform it into solid actions and rich outcomes of the mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation.”
Jiang Zaidong said President Xi Jinping emphasized that China is committed to a friendly policy toward all Pakistani people, an instructed that the planning and layout of the CPEC should cover all parts of Pakistan so that the benefit can all Pakistani people.
He said that the Gwadar has transformed from a fishing village into a regional hub. Electricity from Sahiwal Coal-Fired Power Plant lit up countless households. Orange Line Metro Train runs through the thousand-year-old metropolis of Lahore while the Khunjerab Pass is open all year round.
He said that the CPEC has brought a total of US$25.4 billion in direct investment, 236,000 jobs, 510 kilometers of highways, more than 8,000 megawatts of electricity and 886 kilometers of core transmission to Pakistan.
He said that China-Pakistan trade has exceeded 23 billion USD. As 2025 marks the crucial year for China’s comprehensive deepening of reforms and Pakistan’s inaugural year for “Uraan Pakistan” plan, we are willing to further strengthen strategic alignment with Pakistan, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, provide new development opportunities for Pakistan with new achievements in Chinese modernization, and create a new model of South-South cooperation through extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.
He said that during President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to China, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Jointly Promoting Cooperation on the Global Security Initiative, providing critical guidance for enhancing our joint response to major global and regional security challenges.
This fully demonstrates that Pakistan consistently stands with China at the forefront when implementing the major initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping.
He said, “We stand ready to deepen security cooperation with Pakistan, continue to firmly support Pakistan’s counter terrorism efforts, jointly address non-traditional security challenges such as climate change and major natural disasters, foster a secure environment for the CPEC development and practical cooperation across sectors, and provide security assurance for the enduring growth of our bilateral relations.”
He said that over the past decade, we have walked hand in hand, and demonstrated our historical responsibility with high-level international coordination.
He said that China and Pakistan have maintained strategic communication on international and regional situation and closely coordinated on major global and regional issues.
He said that as fellow developing countries and key members of the Global South, with Pakistan assuming its role as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council this year, our two countries are better positioned than ever for high-level international collaboration.
The ambassador said, “Over the past decade, our hearts have linked as one, and our traditional friendship has been upheld and elevated through high-level people-to-people exchanges.”
President Xi Jinping noted that China and Pakistan should translate our strong political ties into momentum for cultural engagement, setting an example of mutual learning and friendly cooperation between civilization, he added.
He said that during the past ten years, Pakistan has ranked among the top three countries in terms of total students studying in China and recipients of Chinese scholarships.
He added many Chinese universities have established Urdu language programs, and the two sides have formed a 130-member CPEC consortium of universities.
He said, “Our first co-produced movie Batie Girl was warmly received, and the Gandhara Art Exhibition drew millions of visitors in China.”
He said that recently, the China Express News Bulletin was successfully aired during prime time on Pakistan’s national television PTV, and our jointly organized “Esthetic Bridge” art exhibition won widespread acclaim.
“We are ready to work with Pakistan to implement President Xi Jinping’s Global Civilization Initiative, expand language training, youth exchanges, sister-city partnerships, and media and think tank cooperation, so as to promote mutual brilliance between Chinese and Islamic civilizations, allowing our iron-clad friendship to take deep root in the hearts of our two peoples.”
He said, “A decade of cultivation has yielded fruitful results and kindled greater expectations.”
He said that the recent CPC Central Conference on work related to Neighboring Countries, President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to focus on building a community with a shared future with neighboring countries, striving to break new ground in neighborhood work.
He said that the Conference also proposed to use high-quality Belt and Road cooperation as the main platform to jointly create a brighter future with neighboring countries.
“We will thoroughly implement the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s important speech and the arrangements made at the conference, always view and promote China-Pakistan relations from a strategic perspective.”
The ambassador said, “We need to take solid steps while staying ambitious, so as to continue writing the story of joint effort and shared prosperity through high-quality CPEC development and vibrant practical cooperation.”
