Curtain falls on Lijian Zhao's stay in Pakistan

Former diplomat worked tirelessly to strengthen Pak-China ties, CPEC

ISLAMABAD : As the curtain has falls on Chinese diplomat Lijian Zhao's four-year tenure as the country's deputy chief of mission (DCM) he has been attributed with bolstering bilateral ties.

The envoy enjoyed stature in Islamabad's political and social circles and oversaw projects China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.

He strived to ensure that projects were not sabotaged during his time in office.

PHOTO: EXPRESS

Zhao dispelled propaganda against China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).  In addition, he strived for the timely completion of work.

Several projects including the 322-kilometre Multan and Sukkur M5, 1,320 megawatt Sahiwal coal power plant were completed during his stay.

The Chinese diplomat worked on a variety of agriculture projects on the financial, social and welfare developments of Pakistan. He also facilitated Pakistani students in the pursuit of higher education in Chinese varsities.

PHOTO: EXPRESS

Zhao's efforts were lauded as he exposed negative propaganda of the western world against China's trillion-dollar global trade plan.

He also defended Pakistan’s stance on the recent tensions between Pakistan and India on Kashmir.

During his years of service, the Chinese diplomat demanded a solution to the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the United Nations (UN) resolutions.

Addressing a farewell organised in his honour, the former Chinese envoy maintained that Pakistan and China enjoy 99 per cent support and consensus in regards to materialising the belt and road projects.

"I have been in Pakistan for the past four years as the Chinese deputy chief of mission. And I have received immense love in Pakistan. The last four years proved very productive for Pak-China friendship. The leadership of both the countries had several high-level tours during the time," he said.



He added that economic and business-to-business relations also flourished in the past four years. "We tried to take forward the CPEC project. We set up a power plant operated on local coal. The project was aimed at meeting the energy needs of Pakistan."

On the occasion, Zhao stated that the Hub power plant in Balochistan was in its final stages while three more projects are in the pipeline. The ex-envoy also announced funds worth $1 million for the special sector and also completed the m5 motorway. During the address, Zhao expressed gratitude towards the civil leadership and military top brass and the media.

The Chinese diplomat, as his parting remarks, congratulated the incoming Pang Chunxue who is set to replace Zhao as deputy chief of mission.

Bidding farewell to my colleagues at the embassy. My last tweet in Pakistan. I will be in transit mode on Twitter. I will come back to Twitter after I settle down. Time to go. I wish I could drive the plane away and stay back. Thank you again Pakistan. See you later. pic.twitter.com/w5fM5EOuE0

— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) August 10, 2019