All-weather friends: Pak-China trade increased to $12 billion, says Weidong

Increased trade, setting up of Gwadar Port some of the highlights of 2013.

ISLAMABAD:

Over 50,000 people from Pakistan were issued visas for China in 2013, marking a 20% increase from last year. These findings were shared by the Ambassador of China Sun Weidong at the launch of the think-tank Pakistan-China Institute’s (PCI) Annual Report 2013 here on Friday.

The report details remarkable developments which resulted from bilateral ties observed in 2013, he said. Achievements marked by exchange of visits between the two prime ministers, an exponential increase in bilateral trade to over $12 billion, commercial operations of Gwadar Port directed by a Chinese company and enhanced interaction between parliamentarians and think-tanks of the two countries fall under this category.

“The Pakistan-China Economic Corridor and Joint Cooperation Committee are hallmarks of a deepening Pak-China friendship which, based upon mutual cooperation and trust, will continue to enhance cooperation in energy, trade and economic development,” Weidong further stated.



He said that China was opening up its Western front for economic progress, hence the province of Xinjiang would be a critical link of cooperation with Pakistan.

The ambassador also expressed his desire for greater friendship at the grassroots level by promoting people-to-people contact.

“Pakistan-China friendship has a strong momentum and the people of the two countries should catch up with the change,” he commented.

In this regard, he lauded the activities of the country’s premier non-governmental platform, Pakistan-China Institute, in enhancing this aspect of bilateral relations as briefed in the annual report. He also appreciated the contributions of Senator Mushahid Hussain to promote bilateral ties.

“Pak-China friendship is an exemplar of unique and constructive state-to-state relations for the world. In fact, if the world could emulate this example, there could be everlasting peace,” the Ambassador asserted.

Founder and Chairman PCI Mushahid Hussain highlighted various activities of the think tank in 2013, while also referring to PCI’s new initiatives planned for 2014 which include a book project on Pakistan-China friendship and the first-ever Urdu travelogue on Xinjiang penned by leading travel writer Mustansar Hussain Tarar.  Sharing information about other future endeavours, Hussain said they were planning to launch online teaching classes in Chinese language and a trilateral dialogue between think-tanks of China, Afghanistan and Pakistan in May 2014 in Islamabad. He expressed that the forum would act as a bridge between the youth, women, media, academia and think-tanks of the neighbouring states.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2014.