Minister for Foreign Affairs Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan on Thursday said Pak-Sino relations are based on strong bonds of friendship and through exchange of delegations could further cemented these bilateral ties. He was addressing a seminar organised by Institute of Strategic Studies in collaboration with the Chinese embassy on "New China's Foreign Policy and Sino-Pak Relations."
The seminar was a special one in terms of its timing as it coincided with the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said leaders of the two countries have very close interaction that has been helping to further strengthening the relations at people to people level.
In his opening remarks Ambassador Tanvir Ahmed Khan (Retd), Chairman/Director General ISS welcomed the guests and specially the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Luo Zhaohui, for taking out time in his very busy schedule and remarked that this shows the love and respect of Chinese government and people for Pakistan.
Ambassador Tanvir (Retd) said that October 1, 1949, changed the history of world when China came into being and the pace with which it developed itself and the tremendous development it brought to the world. He said the relationship Pakistan enjoys with China is unparalleled and unprecedented in today's world.
The Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Luo Zhaohui thanked the Institute of Strategic Studies for holding the seminar to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China. Chinese Ambassador said China and Pakistan are close neighbours, dear friends, trusted partners and good brothers. He stressed that the friendship and contacts between the peoples of the two countries have a time honoured history.
He further elaborated the Sino-Pak relationship by saying that it is mainly based on four important pillars; the first is political trust and understanding, a total consensus between the two leadership and government to further the all weather friendship.
He said the second is national defence co-operation for self-defence and regional peace and stability as well. The third is economic co-operation, and there is a lot of potential to explore in trade, investment, and business co-operation. He said the fourth is the people to people contacts.
The Sino-Pak friendship is deeply rooted in the heart of the two peoples, however both the government need to establish more platforms and give more facilities for more understanding and communication between China and Pakistan. Akram Zaki, former Secretary General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in his presentation remarked that China and Pakistan are different in many ways.
"We have different social systems, different ideologies, and different religions. Our relationship, however, has stood the test of time," he said. He said no matter what happened in domestic affairs in two countries or in international affairs, China and Pakistan have retained mutual trust, mutual support and mutual co-operation.
He said, "We respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We never interfere into each other's internal affairs. We always consult each other about major issues on equal basis, and we conduct co-operation to mutual benefit." Akram Zaki said there is no clash of interests between China and Pakistan. The Sino-Pak relationship has become an example of state-to-state relations in the modern world.
Ambassador Khalid Mehmood (Retd) while giving his point of view on the seminar said that the scintillating history of Pak-China relations leaves no doubt that this relationship will not only endure but has the potential of getting stronger and deeper, provided that while keeping the strong links in the political, defence and strategic fields.
Fazal-ur-Rahman, Director China Study Center of the ISSI, while delivering his presentation on China's Neighbourhood Policy, stated that China's engagement with its neighbours is essentially based on themes such as lowering tensions with adversaries and trying to create stable political and strategic environment in the neighbourhood. He said Chinese policy is also aiming at reassuring its neighbours of its non-interference and peaceful intentions besides offering co-operation in mutually beneficial areas of interest.