President Xi's visit to Pakistan

By Sajjad Malik
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, April 19, 2015
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Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Pakistan Monday and Tuesday, his first ever state outing to this country with which China has strong historical relations. Pakistan was among the first nations to recognize the People's Republic of China and then established diplomatic relations in 1951 by cutting ties with Taiwan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) welcomes Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend a Dialogue on Strengthening Connectivity Partnership in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 8, 2014. [Xinhua/Ding Lin]



Pakistan provided key moral and diplomatic support to the PRC at various forums in the initial formative years. It has consistently supported the Chinese stance on the important issues like its sovereignty over Taiwan and matters related to the human rights.

It also helped China to set up ties with the West by secretly arranging meetings of top Chinese and U.S. diplomats, which paved way for the epochal visit of President Richard Nixon to Beijing in 1972.

The leadership of China has not only consistently acknowledged the support of Pakistan over the years, but also provided generous economic and military support to the country in times of difficulty. That is why political leaders and people of Pakistan consider China as the most reliable partner and friend.

With the passage of time the relations between the two countries have grown ever stronger and both sides now often describe them as "higher than the Himalayas and deeper than the oceans."

Against this background, therefore, President Xi just needs to build on the good foundation laid down by his predecessors and add his share to the existing ties. In fact, he has already done more than was expected in the short span of time since he took over.

The current phase of relations focuses on economic ties. The ground work started when Premier Li Keqiang visited Pakistan in 2013. The two countries are already working on several projects related to energy, infrastructure and defence fields. According to various estimates, China will make hefty investments of about US$45 billion to advance these projects in the coming years.

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