"No matter how Pakistan’s domestic political situation changes, no matter how turbulent the international situation is, China and Pakistan have always supported and helped each other."
"China is now rich and strong, so our first thought is to help Pakistan and develop a community of destiny between China and Pakistan."
In the 139 issues of "This is China" broadcast by Oriental TV on March 28th, Professor Zhang Weiwei, Dean of China Institute of Fudan University, and Professor Lin Minwang, a researcher at Fudan University Institute of International Studies and an expert on South Asian issues, discussed China-Pakistan relations together.
Zhang Weiwei:
When it comes to Pakistan, the most commonly used word in Chinese is "Batie", which means that the relationship between China and Pakistan is very iron. No matter how the domestic political situation in Pakistan changes, no matter how turbulent the international situation is, China and Pakistan have always supported and helped each other. I myself am one of the witnesses of the relationship between Batie and Batie.
On the eve of the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 4th this year, His Excellency imran khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, who came to attend this grand event, had an interesting video dialogue with some representatives of major think tanks in China under the careful arrangement of Mr. Moyin Huck, Pakistan’s ambassador to China. Teacher Lin Minwang and I were invited to participate.
Premier imran khan made a keynote speech first. He warmly congratulated the Beijing Winter Olympics and the people of China for celebrating the Spring Festival, and achieved the historic achievement of completely eradicating extreme poverty. He said it was a feat that shocked human society.
Your Excellency Prime Minister highly praised the "all-weather" strategic partnership between China and Pakistan, and pointed out that no matter which party is in power in Pakistan, it pursues a policy of friendship with China. On issues involving China’s core interests, such as Xinjiang, Xizang, Hong Kong, Taiwan Province and the South China Sea, Pakistan has always stood firmly on China’s side.
Pakistani Prime Minister imran khan. Source: Xinhua News Agency
He is deeply disturbed by the current international situation. He believes that the United States has started a foreign policy of containing China from the Trump administration, while Pakistan is firmly opposed to any attempt that will lead the world to the Cold War again and the military bloc confrontation, because it violates the interests of the people of the world.
Premier imran khan briefed everyone on the situation in Afghanistan, saying that "Afghanistan has finally achieved peace after a long period of war. But unfortunately, the sanctions imposed by western powers have caused Afghanistan to slide into a huge humanitarian disaster and crisis. " "Whether you like the Taliban government or not, you can’t punish the Afghan people," he said. He also talked about the relationship between Pakistan and India, and mentioned that he was a world champion of cricket and had many fans in India. But he severely criticized the policy pursued by the current Indian government, which he called "nationalism and racism".
He spoke highly of the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and pointed out that this project has brought great progress to Pakistan’s economic development and people’s lives. As we all know, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a flagship project of China’s "Belt and Road Initiative". It starts from Kashgar, Xinjiang, China and continues to Gwadar Port, Pakistan, with a total length of more than 3,000 kilometers, covering a large number of large-scale engineering projects such as railways, highways, oil and gas pipelines, power generation and transmission, optical cable and telecommunications.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is also a meeting point of the Silk Road on land and the Silk Road on the sea in China. It has provided a strong impetus for Pakistani economic development, and at the same time, it has provided China with a major transportation and energy channel outside the Straits of Malacca, which is of great geo-economic and geopolitical significance. Your Excellency mentioned that "Pakistan, like China, believes that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor should be extended to Afghanistan and Central Asia." In this way, many countries in this region can benefit from this economic artery.
After his speech, we began to interact. I will briefly introduce the development mode of people-oriented principle in China, that is, everything the government does will ultimately be people-centered, leading to the improvement of people’s livelihood, and whether it is economic reform, political reform or social reform, it will ultimately enable people to live a better life.
I mentioned a national security report recently released by Pakistan, which placed Pakistan’s national economic security at the core of achieving comprehensive national security. Premier imran khan interjected at this time, saying, "We have been discussing how to learn from the China model. We can learn little from other models, but we can learn a lot from China’s development model. "
In our interaction, we also talked about the American attempt to contain China. I said that China is the world’s largest economy (according to purchasing power parity), the world’s largest consumer market, the world’s largest investment market, the world’s most complete industrial chain, and the world’s largest trader of goods. I said that if the United States wants to isolate such China, it will only isolate itself in the end. Then Premier imran khan agreed. He said, "I have studied and lived in Britain for many years. Perhaps I know western countries better than many people. I have told western diplomats many times that the United States has no way to contain China. China will keep moving forward. "
The day after this talk, Li Shimo, a researcher from our research institute, made an exclusive interview with Premier imran khan. When talking about the United States, the Premier said, "The United States is also a good friend of Pakistan, but this friendship is different from the all-weather friendship between China and Pakistan. The United States used to be very friendly to Pakistan, but when they thought Pakistan was useless, we were abandoned by the United States, and then we will become friendly again.
For example, after Pakistan became the front line against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan became a friend of the United States, and they even helped us and were very good to us. But as soon as the Soviet Union left Afghanistan, the United States imposed sanctions on Pakistan. But ten years later, after the "9.11" incident, the United States was friendly to us again. But when they couldn’t win in Afghanistan, the United States blamed us for its defeat in Afghanistan. Therefore, unlike Pakistan-China relations, Pakistan-US relations are "all-weather" partnerships. Pakistan-China relations have been stable for more than 70 years, and Pakistan stands with China on every occasion. And whenever Pakistanis need China, China will stand with us. ".
These conversations with Premier imran khan also remind me of another Pakistani leader I met more than 30 years ago. On November 17th, 1985, I accompanied Yao Yilin, then Deputy Prime Minister of the State Council, China, to visit the Sultanate of Oman to attend the 15th anniversary ceremony of Oman’s National Day. At that time, many countries sent leaders to attend this ceremony, including former Pakistani President General Zia Haq.
That afternoon, at the invitation of former President Huck, Yao Yilin had an hour-long meeting with him. One of the main contents that General Huck talked about that day was that he hoped that China and Arab countries would develop more positive relations. He especially wanted to promote the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and other Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia. Everyone knows that Saudi Arabia is one of the most influential countries in the Middle East. Vice Premier Yao Yilin said that Saudi Arabia may still have difficulties, but we are patient.
What was a practical problem at that time? China’s economy is very small, and the international recognition of China’s products is very low. At that time, oil was still a pillar industry for China to earn foreign exchange through export, and the Gulf countries themselves are big oil exporters, so there are not many areas where China and the Gulf countries can complement each other economically. However, former President Huck said that the people of China are hardworking and intelligent, and the leaders of China are super capable. China must be an economic superpower within 20 years. He believed that China should be laid out in this region in advance. Yao Yilin said privately that this general is a man of great vision.
Pakistan’s national conditions are very complicated. We met former President Huck in 1985. Three years later, on August 17, 1988, General Huck’s special plane exploded while flying in China, and he was killed at the age of 64. I was shocked to hear the news, and a leader who impressed me quite positively suddenly disappeared.
It is reported that terrorists in Pakistan installed a time bomb on the plane, but today there is no definite conclusion. Today, Pakistan still faces the serious threat of terrorism, and China and Pakistan have many important cooperation in the security field such as counter-terrorism. The armed forces of China and Pakistan also maintain very solid friendly and cooperative relations.
In the diplomatic field, Pakistan has provided a lot of support to China. As early as 1962, despite American pressure, Pakistan actively supported the restoration of the new China’s legitimate seat in the United Nations. I have long followed the debate on human rights in China at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. From 1990 to 2001, western countries put forward anti-China proposals in the Commission on Human Rights every year for ten consecutive years, but almost every time, Pakistan spoke on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which is composed of more than 40 countries, refuting the unwarranted accusations of human rights in China by western countries.
There are a group of excellent diplomats in Pakistan, who are always arguing with Confucianism at international conferences. The first thing they often say is that Pakistan is an Islamic country and China is not an Islamic country, but I assure you that China is a great friend of the Islamic world. Please vote for China.
This year, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of President Nixon’s visit to China. In fact, it was Pakistan that helped arrange the secret visit to China by Kissinger, Assistant to the President of the United States for National Security Affairs, in 1971. At that time, high-level officials of China and the United States had a secret information exchange through Pakistani President Yahya Khan, and it was confirmed that Kissinger would visit China in secret. However, at that time, China and the United States were in a hostile state, the Vietnam War was still going on, the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was complicated, and China was still in the stage of the Cultural Revolution. Slogans like "Down with American imperialism" and "Down with Soviet revisionism" were all over the street, and such information could not be disclosed inside the United States.
So in July, 1971, when Kissinger was visiting Pakistan, he suddenly fell ill and needed to rest. In a highly confidential situation, he flew to China by a special plane of pakistan international airlines Company. In just two days, Kissinger and Premier Zhou Enlai held talks for 17 hours, paving the way for President Nixon’s visit to China.
However, as mentioned earlier, unlike Chinese’s tradition of cherishing friendship, there is a popular saying in Pakistani political circles that any time you believe in the United States, you have chosen to be abandoned, which means that the United States treats you well when it needs you, and forgets or even abandons you when it doesn’t.
After Premier imran khan visited China, he also visited the Russian Federation on February 24th. As we all know, this is the day when Putin ordered special military action against Ukraine. Although this visit was arranged long ago, Premier imran khan resisted the pressure of the United States and visited Moscow as scheduled, becoming the first foreign leader to visit since the Russian military operation began. And President Putin had a three-hour meeting with Premier imran khan that day. After the talks, the Russian President’s Office also issued a statement, saying that the two sides had "extensive consultations" on bilateral cooperation, especially energy cooperation, and exchanged views on regional issues and the situation in South Asia.
On February 24th, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with visiting Pakistani Prime Minister imran khan after announcing the military action against Wudong. Photo from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Twitter
Judging from the reaction to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, almost all non-Western powers, including the BRICS countries China, India and South Africa, as well as many countries in the Islamic world, such as Iran and Pakistan, abstained from voting on the Western resolution on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the United Nations, and the population they represent far exceeds that of western countries. This shows that everyone does not accept the one-sided view of the West, understands the complexity of the issue, and expects Russia and Ukraine to finally resolve the dispute through negotiations.
At the same time, many think tanks and scholars in China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and other countries have called for strengthening the unity of Eurasian countries, jointly resisting the infiltration of American and Western forces, strongly responding to the challenges of the United States and the West, and jointly resisting the "Sinophobia" spread by the United States and the West all over the world for a long time, including sinophobia in English, Russophobia in Russian, Islamophobia.
Thank you all.
Lin Minwang:
When it comes to the relationship between China and Pakistan, people use the word "Batie" to describe it. Many people are curious about why China and Pakistan can develop into "iron buddies". Pakistan stood in the American camp throughout the Cold War. Why didn’t Pakistan and the United States develop into "iron buddies"? This issue actually involves a very core issue, that is, Pakistan’s entire diplomatic strategy and its foreign relations.
The core element of Pakistan’s diplomacy and its foreign strategy is to get rid of India’s control over the whole South Asian subcontinent. Since the founding of Pakistan, its biggest worry is India, and this fear is beyond many people’s imagination. There are two main reasons for this fear. One is the huge gap in strength and Pakistan’s natural "weakness". Pakistan is a very long and narrow land shape, with four important neighbors, east and west neighbors, and north and south neighbors. The south is India, and India can basically be said to be a natural enemy, so it must ensure that the east and west neighbors and the countries in the north are friendly to it. Pakistan often uses a word called "strategic depth", so it pays close attention to China, Iranian and Afghan factors.
Its relationship with India is poor, and the second reason is national identity. India does not recognize Pakistan as a legitimate and legitimate country. Including now, after the Indian Indian Party came to power, it said that Pakistan belongs to it, so we can understand why Pakistan is so worried about India.
Since the founding of Pakistan in 1947, its basic diplomatic strategy has been alliance. In a popular sense, just find the most powerful country, which can provide it with military strength, economic strength, or in a certain sense, the power to form checks and balances against India. Therefore, it joined the treaty system of the two military alliances of the United States in 1955 to achieve checks and balances on India.
As a result, Pakistan was very disappointed after joining. Why? The United States said that I pulled you into this alliance system to make you anti-China, so it wanted to promote reconciliation between India and Pakistan and form a common anti-China front. However, Pakistan said that the important purpose of joining your front is to solve my own security concerns. As a result, the United States gave it weapons, and the United States said that you could not use them against India. All weapons can only be used with the consent of the United States.
Then Pakistan said that I didn’t buy these things for toys. If I don’t need to target India, why should I buy them? So later, the differences between the two countries were very big. After the second India-Pakistan war broke out in 1965, Pakistan saw it more clearly. The United States imposed a military embargo on India and Pakistan at the same time. Pakistan found that India was embargoed and there was no problem. The Soviet Union helped it, but after Pakistan was embargoed, it was finished and no one could help it. Later, it found that only China was the most reliable.
On March 2, 2021, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi attended the launching ceremony of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan by video and delivered a speech.
Another reason is that in the Sino-Indian border war in 1962, Pakistan found that "distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors", and the real power to balance India is China. China has such ability and determination, but the United States does not. Therefore, from 1962 to 1965, the relationship between Pakistan and China underwent a substantial change, and later it developed into what we call the "Batie" relationship. Another view of the United States was that the United States was the strongest in the world, and Pakistan had to rely on the United States. But what’s the problem? The United States has too many allies, and the United States often ignores Pakistan’s core concerns.
The last time, the United States thought Pakistan was very useful, that is, the United States fought the war in Afghanistan. In 2001, Pakistan provided a military base, and Pakistan followed it for more than ten years. Finally, Pakistan found its own Islamization, including terrorism, raging in China, which led to a series of development problems, social security problems and state governance problems, all of which were caused by its strategic cooperation with the United States in counter-terrorism.
The bigger question is, where does the United States hate Pakistan now? The United States fought against terrorism in Afghanistan for twenty years, and in the tenth year, it was discovered that bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan. Therefore, the United States is equivalent to starting from 2011, and the whole domestic sentiment towards Pakistan is very heavy. In Trump’s words, it is a typical "eat inside and pick outside".
Therefore, the relationship between them has basically not recovered from 2011 to now, that is, it has been in a downward trend. When I arrived in Biden, I went even further. Biden hasn’t called imran khan so far. Pakistan helped the United States to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan before, and was partially separated from the plight of the Taliban, but the United States did not appreciate it, so now Pakistan’s diplomacy has undergone a major adjustment.
The relationship between Pakistan and China has been able to maintain this kind of "iron buddy" relationship since there was a substantial change in 1962 and 1965. The most important reason is that we have common strategic interests. Another reason is that during every major transformation of the world structure, the interests of both sides can be roughly consistent, and this "roughly consistent" has just been mentioned by Teacher Zhang. Pakistan has helped China. It has helped a lot, such as China’s good relations with the whole Islamic world, the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Iran, the normalization of relations between China and the United States, and the fact that Pakistani diplomats were the first to stand in the way of the UN Human Rights Council in the 1990s.
Of course, up to now, as far as China is concerned, helping the rich before getting rich, and China is now rich and strong, our first thought is to help Pakistan. In the past, we mainly provided security assistance, but now we are developing into political, economic and cultural aspects, and we want to develop a community of destiny between China and Pakistan. In this sense, China and Pakistan’s "iron buddies" have developed from strategic security allies in the past to real buddies now. I believe that as China becomes stronger, China and Pakistan will become stronger in the future!
[Roundtable discussion]
Moderator: There will always be regime changes in Pakistan, and there will always be a new government. No matter which government is in power, its relationship with China has always been so good. Why?
Lin Minwang: A very important reason is that China strictly adheres to the policy of "non-interference in internal affairs". Why does the United States always make mistakes in recent years? In every election in Pakistan, American intelligence agencies have done a lot of work there. Generally speaking, after some political parties or families came to power, they felt that the previous leader was so close to China that he wanted to distance himself. But after half a year, he would find that only China was his real buddy, so he quickly adjusted his policy.
Zhang Weiwei: There is another important reason. The friendship and cooperation between the armies of China and Pakistan are very important. Pakistan became independent in 1947, and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was formally established in 1956. At that time, Chairman Mao sent Geng Biao, who was a general diplomat with the rank of general. At that time, Chairman Mao told him that imperialism had surrounded us, and we wanted to open a door in the west, so you went. Later, a series of our projects, including the opening of China-Pakistan Airlines in 1964, were not easy. At that time, we had to fly out to Europe and Africa, and China-Pakistan Airlines took the lead.
Today’s "Belt and Road" and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor are a continuation of this tradition. The friendship between the armies of the two countries is very deep. And the Pakistani army has a great influence on Pakistan’s national politics. So I don’t agree with the western regime theory. As long as the army is in power, this country is not good. China talks about the specific situation and concrete analysis, seeking truth from facts. In many developing countries, the army is the only institutional arrangement with executive power, while the Pakistani army has relatively strong combat effectiveness, so it has a special role.
On January 6, 2020, the Sino-Pakistani Navy’s "Marine Guardian -2020" joint maritime exercise kicked off. The picture is from the Ministry of National Defense of China
Moderator: You talked about the army. What kind of existence is the Pakistani army?
Lin Minwang: Many people in the West always look at this phenomenon with a negative attitude when they say that soldiers are involved in politics or military coups. But in fact, in Pakistan, every time soldiers are involved in politics, everyone calls on soldiers to come forward quickly. These politicians have hollowed out the national wealth, and these people can’t be on stage, and the country will be finished on stage. Therefore, the support rate of Pakistan’s coup was very high. In fact, many people or the middle class asked them to come out and push down the current government.
Moderator: Why do local people have such a trust in the army?
Lin Minwang: The strategic environment of Pakistan is very poor. Survived under such difficult conditions in 1947, and then fought the first India-Pakistan war with India in 1948, the second time in 1965 and the third time in 1971. This army has played a great role in the survival of the country, so the people all regard the army as the conscience and pillar of the country.
Moderator: This kind of trust is hard-won. When Mr. Li Shimo interviewed Premier imran khan, Premier imran khan had a remark. He said that this "all-weather" friendship between Pakistan and China will continue whether imran khan is in power or other people in power.
Zhang Weiwei: In recent days, the Pakistani parliament will impeach Premier imran khan. I watched Pakistani TV and he said that the army supported me. In any case, China-Pakistan friendship will continue to move forward, whether he stays on stage or steps down. In Pakistan, you can feel that Chinese is particularly popular, and there is a heartfelt respect and friendship between politicians, people and scholars, which has been accumulated for a long time.
Moderator: I once read an article about the friendship between Batie and many netizens left messages. One netizen said that she had traveled with some friends and got on a bus with some Pakistani youths. When she heard that they were Chinese, she must stand up and give them her seat. The youth told them that we are Batie and we are friends. The relationship between the United States and Pakistan will be used when the United States needs you, kicked off when it doesn’t need you, and sanctioned when it needs sanctions. In fact, we can see the charm of China’s diplomacy, not only with Pakistan, but also with other countries.
Lin Minwang: China’s diplomacy with the United States, including South Asia, is very interesting. Because the United States is the "world hegemon", it has many allies. In fact, like Pakistan and South Asia, it doesn’t pay much attention to it. Basically, whenever something happens and you are needed, it comes. Like after the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan was abandoned. But China is hard on friends, and we do respect our friendship. In terms of maintaining respect for our relationship, the United States can’t compare with China.
Zhang Weiwei: I have been to all countries in South Asia. In the 1980s, there were many contradictions in Sino-Indian relations for various reasons. However, other countries, such as Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, have very good friendship with China. One of the important reasons is that India always bullies these countries, and China really respects others, so it won friendship, and it has been known for a long time, and the distance knows horsepower.
Moderator: We have always said that "the friendship between countries lies in the blind date between the people", and the friendship between the people has been consolidated, which is a great help to the friendly relations between the two countries. You said just now that Pakistan is a narrow country. What are the characteristics of its economic development?
Lin Minwang: Pakistan’s economic development is actually related to its geography. Why should the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor build a large east-west passage, mainly in the south, because the south is similar to the plain, and the economic center of gravity is in the south. These agricultural areas are all in the south, and the north is high mountains, with particularly poor environment and sparse population.
On the whole, its geography restricts the whole economic development, with agriculture as the main factor. On the whole, South Asia has a relatively strong service industry, with strong agriculture, strong service industry and extremely weak manufacturing industry. This weakness is also due to the development strategies of these countries from the cold war to the present, which always serve the west, and no one cares about manufacturing, especially heavy industry, etc. So when imran khan came to China, he said, I want to learn from you now and start manufacturing.
Zhang Weiwei: The project of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is significant, because it is a super-large project. It is a combination of roads, railways, oil and gas pipelines, cables and optical cables, including a series of hydropower stations, thermal power plants, ports, manufacturing factories and parks. Therefore, China really does practical things, which can promote Pakistan’s all-round development and is certainly beneficial to China. We know that the Malacca Strait is a passage that is likely to be controlled by the United States at any time. After passing through Gwadar Port, the countries around the Gulf will come out, so it will save about five or six thousand kilometers compared with bypassing the Straits of Malacca, which is extremely geo-significant. It is good for Pakistan, good for us and good for neighboring countries.
I would like to add that Pakistan’s economy has a big problem, with a large population and a relatively low starting point. There must be a large number of labor-intensive industries. Without labor-intensive industries, jobs cannot be created. So Pakistan wants to learn from the China model, which I particularly understand, but it is really not easy.
Moderator: Pakistan wants to learn but is not very eager to learn. Pakistan wants to be a manufacturing industry. Do we have any cooperation projects and attempts in this regard?
Lin Minwang: Yes, the national conditions of the two countries are really different. On the whole, China enterprises will actually encounter many cultural, institutional and governance difficulties and problems when they go to South Asia and Pakistan. In fact, manufacturing involves many aspects. People in Pakistani culture are more casual, which is actually a challenge to enterprises in China.
Zhang Weiwei: When analyzing India, I also said that the literacy rate of people in India and Pakistan is much lower than that in China, and sometimes the basic quality of industrial workers and the number of engineers are far from enough. These are practical problems.
Lin Minwang: Actually, they are also trying to learn this aspect. For example, many China companies went to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. After going there, many of them found this bottleneck problem. Pakistan’s labor training and labor skills are almost poor. So now, after many projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor started, they are also learning and training its industrial workers in large quantities.
[Audience questions]
Bai Yang: My name is Bai Yang, and I am a practitioner in the financial industry. Just now, we discussed a lot of cooperation between China and Pakistan. Now, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the geopolitical game between big countries are intensifying. What impact will it have on China-Pakistan cooperation?
Zhang Weiwei: In my previous speech, I mentioned that Premier imran khan went to Russia on February 24th, the day of the military action, and Putin talked with him for three hours. We don’t know what the content was, but it was an important symbolic significance, because traditionally, Russia had a better relationship with India, but since India participated in the US "India-Pacific Strategy", Russia seems to have distanced itself from it.
Therefore, I estimate that Pakistan’s relations with Russia have been further strengthened, otherwise he would not have taken the risk, so Pakistan also has overall considerations, and I think there is no need to worry on the whole. At present, many Russian think tanks, Pakistani think tanks and even some China, Turkish and Iranian think tanks have openly proposed that Europe and Asia should unite to oppose the infiltration of the United States and the West. Everyone thinks that this international order must be changed, and the situation that the United States dominates the world must end.
Moderator: When it comes to geopolitical relations, it is very important for relevant countries to deal with some different issues and frictions very calmly and rationally. Some time ago, Indian missiles landed in Pakistan for unknown reasons, and Pakistan asked India to give an explanation. What is the signal behind this?
Lin Minwang: This matter is particularly interesting. On March 6, India launched a missile. India has not informed Pakistan. As a result, on March 10th, when the fighter J -10, which China cooperated with Pakistan, was delivered, the Pakistani Prime Minister went to the scene to receive the fighter. At this time, the Indian media reported that we threw a missile at you the other day.
Obviously, India is actually a bit like giving a duel, that is to say, if you two cooperate, my missile can contain your weapon. Personally, I guess there may be such considerations, because India did a lot of such small means during the Cold War. This time, it’s quite like some of its past methods. It can’t be said that I’m targeting your fighter projects. I can only say that it was an operation error and I accidentally fell to you. Pakistan is particularly concerned about this. It wants to confirm whether what India said is true, so now it wants India to clarify.
The wreckage of Indian "high-speed flying object" falling into Pakistan.
Miao Yangyang: I’m Miao Yangyang, studying at Beijing Jiaotong University. China and Pakistan are an "all-weather" strategic partnership. I have noticed that there is a saying that there is no real relationship between countries, but a "temporary community of interests". I would like to ask the teacher, what do you think about this issue?
Zhang Weiwei: Pakistan is really special, because I have been there four times, and it just feels different. There is something about it, which seems to be different from the simple saying in the west that "there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests", etc. It contains the elements of friendship, affection and loyalty mentioned by Chinese. Of course, the interests of both sides are indeed highly complementary, and we really gave it important help at the last moment of Pakistan’s life and death, and it is consistent.
Lin Minwang: In fact, China-Pakistan relations are definitely strategically consistent, which is no problem. At any major historical juncture, you will find that Pakistan is on the side of China, which I think is beyond the general strategic calculation of the relationship between friends and allies.
Your opinion actually represents the views of some people. Many people don’t quite understand the characteristics of a country like Pakistan. In fact, it is quite similar to India, that is, the media is particularly developed. Private media recruit a few people at will, buy a camera and build a website, and it becomes a news agency, with a lot of NGOs. A large number of western subsidies give money, specializing in the "Belt and Road". When you go to Pakistan, you find that there are so many voices that seem dissatisfied with China, so you must understand the diversity of its society.
Lu Yong: Hello, three teachers. My name is Lu Yong, and I am a math teacher. I observed an interesting set of data from Pakistan National Bureau of Statistics. In 2021 last year, Pakistan’s economic growth rate was 3.94%, which should be said to be very good in the context of the epidemic. At the same time, Pakistan’s national GDP is less than $1,400, which is below the average in the world. Investment promotion in Pakistan is not smooth, and the development of mining, transportation and communication industries is also slow. I would like to ask three people, what is the root cause of this dilemma? What is worth learning from China’s model and experience?
Zhang Weiwei: If Pakistan takes the experience of China as a frame of reference, what it lacks most is stability and unity. Tribal, religious and regional contradictions within this country are very complicated. Now because its "natural enemy" India, including some NGOs in the west, has made these things more complicated, it has provoked the characteristics of some people fighting some people in a place, which makes it difficult for society to settle down. As Deng Xiaoping said at that time, we should remain steadfast, stable and united for at least several decades, or even a hundred years. But as soon as they adopted the western political system, they also adopted the western system, the Islamic Republic. As a result, they were always in chaos, and the elected government was often dominated by populism. As a result, the economy did not do well.
There is also a contradiction between the so-called "secularists" and "religious sects", because religion is, after all, a great traditional force. For example, President Huck (former) represents the more traditional Islam, but former President Bhutto represents the more so-called enlightened secularists who are willing to contact with the West, and this contradiction is also very great. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve long-term stability and unity and focus on development.
Moderator: We should look at the past, but also at the present and the future. What do you think of the future and foresight of the stability and unity of Pakistan as a whole?
Lin Minwang: From the big geographical environment, it is indeed a bit challenging. At that time, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the "Belt and Road" project were flagship projects, China invested as seed funds, and France, Britain and other countries came. After all, Pakistan is such a big market. As a result, the West is increasingly looking at the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as a strategic geopolitical "flagship". The core issue and the most important thing for Pakistan now is to develop the economy. It tells the world that we are now wholeheartedly striving for development, but the external environment is not for it.
Zhang Weiwei: Adopting the western model is social division, even more and more, which makes it difficult for all countries that adopt the western model to develop smoothly. This is a challenge. At the beginning, I said that a non-western country or a non-western society adopts the western political system, and there are two endings: from hope to disappointment, from disappointment to despair. The west will always support a certain person and a certain party, so it is not easy for a country to be independent, develop its economy and develop its foreign relations in today’s world.
Source | Observer Network
Original title: "There has been regime change in Pakistan, but why has it always been so" iron "with China? 》
