Imtiaz Gul
In a telephonic conversation with PM Imran Khan on October 26, President Xi Jinping delivered a stinging rebuke to all antagonists of China and of its Belt and Road Initiative. In the same vein, Xi literally called on Pakistan not to waver in view of the volatile geo-political circumstances around the globe.
One paragraph of the telephonic contact sums it all:
Given the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, with more sources of turbulence and risks, the two countries should stand together even more firmly and push forward the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, and build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.
Knowing the careful and calculated nature of the Chinese diplomacy, the expression the two countries should stand together even more firmly carries an unusually strong message for Pakistan’s civilian and security elites i.e. let us walk through the maze of hypocritical global politics together without compromising our respective national interests.
In an another expression of support for the sovereignty of the “iron brother,” President Xi reiterated Beijing’s support for Islamabad in exploring a development path suited to its own national conditions and is willing to share China’s high-quality development opportunities with Pakistan.
With this also came a renewed pledged by the Chinese President to “jointly build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with high quality and strengthen cooperation in… agriculture, digital economy and people’s livelihood.”
On his part, PM Khan reassured President Xi that Pakistan “staunchly pursues the one-China policy, firmly supports China’s stance on issues concerning China’s core interests such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and human rights, and firmly backs the Global Development Initiative proposed by President Xi.”
The Chinese post-telephonic conversation statement quoted Khan as noting that major issues facing the world “require Pakistan and China to communicate closely and work together.”
The Khan-Xi contact came after 18 months amid strong speculation about some fissures in the bilateral relations not only because of how Pakistan has managed the multibillion dollar CPEC projects but also because of the apparent revival of Islamabad’s traditionally rollercoaster relations with the United States. This warming up has also raised alarm in Pakistan and China about the continued attempts aimed at derailing and slowing down CPEC.
As if to reiterate Pakistan’s commitment to CPEC goals and dump speculation around it, it was no body else but Khalid Mansoor, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s a special advisor on CPEC affairs, chose to go public on the issue.
“There’s no way Pakistan will forgo any of its benefits. [The US] has more than once burnt its fingers in [the Western] alliance in the past,” Mansoor said during the CPEC Summit at the Institute of Business Administration (Karachi), adding that their attempts to undercut China’s influence in the region will fail.
Mansoor also said that the US and Indian “attempts to maneuver Pakistan out of the BRI” stood little chance of success in view of the unflinching “iron brotherhood.”
Aside from the ill-intend propaganda, talk on the Chinese debt trap around BRI partner countries, Washington and New Delhi have also been trying to attract other nations through initiatives such as Build Back Better World (B3W) plan under the G7 framework.
But the reality on ground is – and is evident from the IMF’s harsh conditions being forced on a cash-strapped Pakistan – the financial support (loans primarily) mostly serves as a geo-political coercive measure including scrutiny through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
This way, President Xi’s phone call to prime minister Khan , has killed two birds; it has buried all motivated myths and rumours on the present and future status of CPEC. At the same time, Xi’s initiative to the context of Pakistan’s difficult internal political and economic conditions, China has positioned itself as a regional big brother not only for Pakistan but also for Afghanistan and urged Islamabad to stand firm as far as its “national interest” is concerned. That stems from the time-tested Chinese principles of non-interference and respect for the sovereignty of its partner countries. A big reassuring phone call indeed.
