What I saw in China

There is a famous thing about China. It is growing so rapidly that you won't be able to recognise the place you visited six months ago. My last trip to China was in 2017 and since then much has changed there. Covid-19 may have slowed the Chinese growth but it is picking up again. A few years ago, the Chinese capital was the world's most polluted city. Western media often portrayed this fact to shame China. But what China has done to tackle the poor air quality index is phenomenal. Today, you visit the Chinese capital; it is as good as any western capital. Clear blue sky welcomes you throughout the winter. This was the city that remained engulfed in toxic air throughout the winter. How did Chinese authorities deal with the problem? They worked on the a war footing. More than a thousand factories were relocated to other places. Electric vehicles, bikes and public transport service were introduced. On top of it, the public responded to all those measures, leading to the miraculous change. If Beijing, which is a far bigger city than Lahore, can tackle this problem, why can't we! But it requires political will and public support.

My next destination was Shanghai, China's financial capital. The GDP size of Shanghai is twice that of Pakistan's. Shanghai's GDP is $660 billion while Pakistan's stands at $365 billion. The skyscrapers in Shanghai are easily comparable to New York. In some cases, the infrastructure is even better than many developed countries. China is known for building mega projects. It was astonishing to see a motorway stretching 32 km built on a sea connecting the world's largest automated deep-sea port. The Yangshan Deep-Water Port within the Shanghai Port is fully automated, equipped with advanced robotics, AI and driverless vehicles for seamless operations. It is a crucial part of China's trade network and the Belt and Road Initiative to connect Asia to Europe, Africa and beyond. The work on the world's largest automated port started in 2014 and it became operational three years later. On the other hand, Pakistan's much talked about Gwadar Port has yet to take off.

Pakistan and China have a longstanding relationship. China is one of the only two countries with which Pakistan has a strategic partnership. Pakistan helped China to come out of international isolation. There was a time when China took inspiration from Pakistan's growth. One of the former Chinese vice premiers in his book wrote how people of China were fascinated by the HBL building in Karachi. But somehow Pakistan took a different path, squandering an opportunity to become next Japan or South Korea.

The sense I gathered during my visit was that China is worried about Pakistan's direction, particularly about the security of their citizens working in Pakistan. Chinese nationals have come under repeated attacks in Pakistan in recent years. This year alone at least 7 Chinese nationals were killed in two separate attacks. Pakistan often blames external forces including India for sabotaging CPEC. While Chinese do agree to the role of external players in the worsening security situation, they are concerned about Pakistan never sharing any concrete evidence with them. China wants to conduct joint investigations into those attacks against their nationals. They need solid evidence about the involvement of foreign hands. According to their assessment, Pakistan's trajectory is not right. When, in one of the sessions a retired diplomat spoke about the growing influence of Indians in the policymaking of the US administration and how this could threaten both China and Pakistan's interests, the Chinese speaker was blunt. He minced no words stating that Pakistan was afraid of the US. As a true friend of Pakistan, he advised Pakistan to trust in its own ability and forget what others were up to. Secondly, he said Pakistan should trust China, its longstanding friend.

The crux is that China seems fed up with the old narrative Pakistan often relies on. It is evident that the business as usual approach is no longer tenable when dealing with China.