Islamabad, 2 August 2022 (TDI): A webinar was arranged by the Pakistan-China Institute and Academy of Contemporary China & World Studies on ‘Global Development & Governance.’
The theme of the online event was ‘Governance Experience Exchange Between Pakistan and China.’ Speakers from the two countries participated in the event.
The opening remarks were given by Nong Rong, the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, the head of the Pakistani Senate’s Defense Committee and the Chairman of the Pakistan-China Institute, as well as Gao Anming, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of China International Communications Group (CICG).
The conversation was moderated by Mustafa Hyder Sayed, the Executive Director of the Pakistan-China Institute, and Lin Kun, the Vice President of the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies.
China is keen to support Pakistan in pursuing its development model fit for the realities on the ground because the two countries are all-weather friends, according to Nong Rong, the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, who had his first public appearance after returning to Pakistan.
H.E Ambassador @AmbNong said at “China-Pakistan Think Tank Dialogue on Global Development and Governance” that Pakistan-China friendship is an all weather friendship. China supports Pakistan on Pakistan’s road to progress and poverty alleviation. pic.twitter.com/zwaB57ZwVV
— Pak-China Institute (@pcipakchina) August 2, 2022
China is eager to increase its exchanges in governance, such as reducing poverty and boosting peoples’ standards of living, through CPEC. Additionally, he lauded the Communist Party of China (CPC) for its measures that have significantly altered China.
He declared that the 20th Congress of the CPC will set new goals and develop plans for the future that would be fulfilled by cooperating for the good of all people. Strategic partners; China and Pakistan have constantly supported one another through difficult times.
While Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed congratulated China on the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) 95th Anniversary of founding, which was commemorated in a special ceremony at the General Headquarters Rawalpindi as a show of goodwill.
Senator Mushahid Hussain also praised the close cooperation between the Pakistan Army and PLA. He further stated that Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Asia and potential travel to Taiwan would be unnecessary and unwarranted provocations.
He added that such a high-level visit by an American official would violate the One-China Policy endorsed by the US and the PRC in the Shanghai Communique.
According to him, such provocations could destabilize Asia and lead to a new kind of conflict, which it cannot afford in these trying times.
He asserted that Pakistan is steadfastly committed to upholding the One-China Policy and safeguarding the strategic alliance with China.
He also spoke about President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, which he described as the most significant diplomatic and development project of the twenty-first century.
The BRI’s main project, CPEC, he claimed, is making admirable development because it has upgraded the nation’s infrastructure and improved the socioeconomic position of its population. He concluded by citing two research conducted by Harvard University.
The first report, titled “Understanding CCP Resilience: Surveying Chinese Public Opinion Through Time,” was released in July 2020 by Harvard University’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
According to the report, Chinese citizens are quite satisfied with the central government. The Great Tech Rivalry: China vs. the United States was the title of Graham Allison’s second research from Harvard University.
According to the report, China will surpass the United States as the world’s leading high-tech producer in 2020, generating 250 million computers, 25 million cars, and 1.5 billion cellphones.
Furthermore, it asserts that China has developed into more than just a manufacturing powerhouse; it is now a genuine rival in key 21st-century technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, quantum information science (QIS), semiconductors, and biotechnology, robots, and green energy.
Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of the China International Communications Group (CICG), Gao Anming, underlined the need of strengthening the Belt and Road Initiative’s high-quality cooperation and aggressively encourage the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Global connectivity and open cooperation are essential to progress. The combined construction of the “Belt and Road” promotes win-win outcomes, advances growth, and inspires optimism.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is being built as a major project in the “Belt and Road” initiative, and it serves as a real-world illustration of win-win collaboration between the two nations.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has contributed a total of US $ 25.4 billion in direct investment to Pakistan since it began construction in 2015, and 22 priority projects have been completed. This has led to the creation of more than 70,000 employees, which has improved people’s quality of life.
Following the opening remarks, Ambassador ® Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, formerly the Foreign Secretary and currently the Director General of the Institute of Strategic Studies, presented a joint research publication titled “Pakistan’s View On Governance Of China In The New Era (2012-2022): Perception & Inspiration.”
Aizaz Chaudhry stated that China had advanced up the growth ladder considerably more quickly than other nations while delivering the study.
China under Mao Zedong concentrated on three important areas: universal education, empowering women in the workforce, and empowering everyone in the workforce.
Additionally, he claimed to have seen two key aspects of Chinese governance: China, for starters, commits to government with a distinct vision and goal.
By doing this, China hopes to reach its objective of having a society that is moderately prosperous by the year 2049. Second, it appears that the Chinese governance structure is centralized.
Since local congresses are chosen democratically with top-down leadership throughout counties and townships, the system is actually very decentralized. He concluded by saying that Pakistan and other nations ought to take note of China’s peaceful rise.
Yu Yunquan, President of the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies, articulated that in the report, many Pakistani experts think that there are two reasons why China can achieve “good governance” in the new era.
The first is President Xi Jinping’s wise leadership, whose ideas on leading the nation have been widely praised by the international community, including Pakistani Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif, and the second is democratic consultative governance, which brings together a broad range of representation of people’s power.
For instance, in what was perhaps the greatest grass-roots election ever, over 1 billion voters in China directly chose over 2 million deputies to people’s congresses at the county and township levels.
Whereas, according to Mustafa Hyder Sayed, Executive Director of the Pakistan-China Institute the age of reform and opening-up was the turning moment that made China the second-largest economy in the world.
He credited China’s peaceful rise to the leaders’ continued adoption of consistent policies. President Xi Jinping’s people-centered policies have helped China realize its goal of creating a community with a shared destiny. There is always a need for consistency and continuity.
Because of these two aspects of Chinese governance, the country will deal with all of the pressing domestic and international issues.
He stated that the CPC is the heart and soul of China, as well as the driving force behind the country’s prosperity. That is why, he claims, it is being deliberately targeted through disinformation campaigns.
He also cited Kishore Mehboobani’s book ‘Has China Won?’ which claims that more than 130 million Chinese tourists freely travel to other countries and all willingly return to their homes in China each year, indicating that they are satisfied with the state of affairs in China.
Wang Xiaohui, Editor-in-Chief of China Internet Information Center, quoted President Xi Jinping as saying, “Only the man who wears the shoes can tell whether it fits or not.”
According to him, China’s development model is people-centered and has yielded significant dividends over time.
Commenting on the CPEC, he stated that during its first phase, both countries deepened cooperation, which resulted in the relief of the energy crisis and the modernization of infrastructure.
Dr. Ye Hailin, Deputy Director General of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Bureau of International Cooperation, stated that the world will face increasing uncertainty in the coming days as a result of the global supply chain disruption caused by the Ukraine crisis.
Furthermore, Nancy Pelosi’s planned visit to Taiwan will exacerbate the situation in the region. The international community must pay attention to these issues because further escalation will benefit no one. He also advocated for third-party involvement in CPEC.
Sultan M Hali quoted Napoleon Bonaparte, who said, “Let China sleep.” For when she awakens, she will rock the world.”
He praised President Xi Jinping for maintaining the momentum of prosperity established by his predecessors. China’s governance in the new era (2012-2022) is a model of policy consistency and commitment to people’s prosperity.
He also commended China’s handling of the Coronavirus Pandemic at home, as well as the medical assistance it provided to developing and developed countries.
Dr. Zhang Jidong, Research Fellow and Division Director for International Cooperation at the National Development and Reform Commission, quoted President Xi Jinping as saying that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners who firmly support each other on issues involving their core interests and major concerns.
Mutual trust and friendship between the two countries have always stood the test of 70 years of international vicissitudes.
Dr. Safdar Sohail, Dean of the National Institute of Public Policy in Lahore, stated that CPEC would serve as a road map for deeper bilateral trade and investment cooperation between Pakistan and China.
Both countries, he said, want to strengthen their relationship, which will only be possible if both parties work together.
According to Dr. Vaqar Ahmed, Joint Executive Director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, the importance of community-level governance was learned from China, which has lifted millions out of poverty.
He stated that economic growth alone will not alleviate poverty unless and until economic activity generates jobs. Furthermore, he proposed that the services sector be included in the Pakistan-China Free Trade Agreement.
Over 50 people attended the three-and-a-half-hour-long webinar. This webinar drew a diverse audience of students, scholars, and media representatives.
