Pakistan and China are time-tested friends but the nature of international relations is changing fast.
KARACHI: This is with reference to your coverage of the Chinese prime minister's visit to Pakistan.
Pakistan and China are time-tested friends but the nature of international relations is changing fast. We can no longer rely on security considerations because of the way the world is moving towards economic realities dictating relationships. In this regard, Pakistan has a lot to catch up on with the rest of the world, not least because with China it has a massive trade deficit. Of course, this means that this trade relationship should be kept on an equal footing and for that Pakistan needs to gain access to Chinese markets. This in turn means that Pakistani goods improve their quality so that people in China would want to buy them, and that is something for Pakistani goods manufacturers to ponder over.
Of course, it goes without saying that Pakistan has been inundated by cheap Chinese goods and this is not beneficial for Pakistani businesses and companies. This matter, one hopes, will have been taken up by the Pakistani government with its Chinese counterpart during the recent visit of the Chinese premier.
Kamal Iqbal
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2010.
