China-Pakistan brotherhood in new era

The China-Pakistan brotherhood has endured all the challenges, rather has gotten stronger with time. And now, in the words of President Xi, Pakistan and China are iron brothers. In the words of Ms Mao Ning, spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Office, “China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron-clad friends. Our friendship has stood the test of time and remained rock-solid and-to use a Chinese expression-steady as Mount Tai”.

Moreover, cooperation between the two countries is multifaceted, which cannot be comprehended by traditional theories of international relations or bilateral friendship. China and Pakistan always assisted each other in protecting their core interest like Taiwan, the South China Sea, Tibet, Kashmir, etc. With the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) launch, the relationship entered a new era. CPEC is part of Belt and Road Initiative, the flagship project of President Xi’s vision of China in the New Era and Community with a Shared Future.

CPEC has been assigned the status of BRI’s flagship project. The economic cooperation between China and Pakistan has been ongoing since early 1950s. The first trade transaction between the two countries was conducted in 1952. Since then, they have strived to strengthen cooperation by signing multiple agreements, including Investment Protection Agreement 1989, Energy Cooperation Framework 2006, Free Trade Agreement 2006, etc.

It was estimated total investment from China in Pakistan was around $15 billion. Huawei, Haier, China mobile and port shipping companies were leading investors, along with others. However, CPEC has changed the whole dynamics and given it a new impetus to cooperation. CPEC, with its vast potential, presents Pakistan with a transformative opportunity and numerous options to pursue the dream of sustainable development, sparking hope for a brighter future.

Since establishing the relationship, the top leadership of both countries has dedicated efforts to strengthening it. In continuation of this policy, Pakistan Prime Minister will arrive in China on June 4. The visit is happening at a very critical time due to multiple reasons.

The hegemonic powers have unleashed an all-out campaign against China. They are busy creating a web of chaos in China’s surroundings. The Russia-Ukraine conflict and sudden withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan are part of this strategy. Now, these powers are pressuring Pakistan to curtail its relationship with China, abandon CPEC and become part of their nefarious agenda. Pakistan, however, has refused to be part of any group or activity against China. Therefore, they consider Pakistan a stumbling block to fulfilling their agenda, and launched a complex campaign against it. They have launched numerous players like IMF, FATF and others to panelised Pakistan.

They are putting all efforts into engaging China in a hot conflict. They are actively fanning conflict in South China Sea by using regional countries as proxies. Unfortunately, some regional countries have become part of their agenda. Simultaneously, they violated One China Policy and complicated Taiwan issue. It is an undeniable fact that Taiwan is part of China, but they are pushing Taiwan to claim the status of an independent state.

These powers are targeting CPEC. It is an unfortunate reality since its inception CPEC has been the prime target of anti-Pakistan, anti-China and Pakistan friendship forces. The opponents are doing everything to sabotage CPEC. They have unleashed fifth-generation warfare on CPEC. They are targeting in a very systematic and sophisticated way. First, they launched narrative warfare. They dubbed CPEC as a debt trap, East India Company, capturing Pakistani resources, etc.

With the failure of their propaganda, they launched hot warfare tactics. They are targeting Chinese nationals in Pakistan and trying to create a wedge between the two countries. It is an open secret the US and its allies are opposing CPEC, and India is actively involved in sabotage activities. They have accelerated their efforts after the successful completion of the first phase of CPEC.

China and Pakistan should develop mechanisms for cooperation on four levels-military, intelligence, police and narrative-building. The military, security and intelligence coalition should focus on the international dimensions of threats and risks. They should jointly map the opponents, enemies, potential threats, actors of threats and fake friends. Based on mapping, they should launch joint operations to counter the threats.

Second, both sides must develop solid platforms to develop narrative by using facts and data to counter fifth-generation warfare. This is extremely important because opponents and enemies of CPEC and China and Pakistan are building fake narratives to damage CPEC and bilateral relations. For example, they use fake news and propaganda about Xinjiang to promote terrorism and terrorist attacks. Thus, the two countries must work on creating their narrative and sharing the truth with the world.

These powers are militarising Asia-Pacific and engaging regional countries to play proxies. Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) is a prime example of this. It is a threat to both China’s and Pakistan’s security and economic interests.

A new world order is emerging. Many countries have shown resistance to Western bullying attitudes. President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Europe and President Putin’s hosting in China have further accelerated the process. President Xi visited Europe to explore options for mutual win-win cooperation, but Western media described it as an effort to divide the West. It is a clear sign the Western block did not like it.

China has just started the journey to achieve the goal of high-quality development and adopted New Quality Productive Forces. It is perceived new quality productive forces will assist China in achieving the goal of high-quality development and transition from Industry 3.0 to Industry 4.0. The Western countries are opposing the transition and have erected numerous obstacles to check the progress of China, such as CHIP and Science Act, strategic rivalry, etc.

In a nutshell, China and Pakistan are facing numerous challenges, individually and jointly. This situation urges both the countries to work more closely to deter opponents’ plans. It is suggested China and Pakistan build joint security and economic development mechanisms. One plausible option can be the “Maritime Partnership for Community with a Shared Future” in the Asia-Pacific and South China Sea region. Both the countries can also invite other countries to join the partnership. Military and security agencies from both the countries should build joint operational mechanisms and platforms. China should take the lead on global issues, and Pakistan should play an active role at the regional level.

These are only suggestions; China and Pakistan can further explore the options and come up with refined and wise policies and strategies.